Long-term course of Menière's disease revisited

Authors: Huppert, Doreen¹; Strupp, Michael²; Brandt, Thomas¹

Source: Acta Oto-Laryngologica, Volume 130, Number 6, June 2010 , pp. 644-651(8)

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Abstract:

Conclusions: The investigated studies disclose a large variability of the many symptoms appearing in the course of Menière's disease. Objectives: To analyze the data of 46 mostly retrospective studies (with a total of 7852 patients). Methods: We present a short overview of the literature on the long-term course of Menière's disease. Special emphasis is placed on the most relevant and distressing symptoms of these patients, such as vertigo attacks, vestibular and hearing function, drop attacks, and the probability of transition from unilateral to bilateral involvement. Results: The frequency of vertigo attacks diminishes within 5-10 years. Hearing loss (of about 50-60 dB) and vestibular function decrement (of about 35-50%) take place mainly in the first 5-10 years of disease. Drop attacks may occur early or late in the course of the disease, and remission is spontaneous in cmost cases. Bilaterality of the condition increases with increasing duration of the disease (up to 35% within 10 years, up to 47% within 20 years).

Keywords: Menière's disease; vertigo attacks; hearing loss; vestibular function loss; drop attacks; long-term follow-up

Document Type: Review article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00016480903382808

Affiliations: 1: 1Institute of Clinical Neurosciences 2: 2Department of Neurology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Publication date: 2010-06-01

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