Meniere's Disease Helped with Chiropractic - A Case Report

In the November 30, 2015, issue of the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research, is a case study showing a patient suffering from Meniere's disease being helped with chiropractic. According to the Mayo Clinic website, "Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes episodes in which you feel as if you're spinning (vertigo), and you have fluctuating hearing loss with a progressive, ultimately permanent loss of hearing, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear."

The authors of this case study discuss how common this condition is by reporting that there are currently approximately 615,000 people in the United States diagnosed with Meniere's disease and 45,500 new cases are diagnosed each year. In many cases, Meniere's disease is associated with dizziness, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances and severe equilibrium dysfunction.

In this case, a 63-year-old woman suffering from Meniere's disease went to a chiropractor after unsuccessful surgical management for her condition. She had been suffering with this problem for 14 years without relief. The woman's symptoms included unsteadiness, nausea, ongoing hearing loss, anxiety, and a jerking or twitching of her eyes. Upon her first visit to the chiropractor, her condition was so bad that she was unable to walk unassisted and required her husband's assistance.

A chiropractic examination was performed and showed a restriction in the motion of her neck as well as pain upon neck pressure and positive palpation findings, muscle tone changes, and functional leg length deficiencies. X-rays of the upper neck were taken and it was determined that subluxation was present in the upper neck. Based on the examination and x-ray findings, specific chiropractic adjustments were begun to correct subluxation.

The results were nearly immediate in this case. In describing the results of her first chiropractic adjustment the woman stated, "As soon as I sat up I was normal again." She continued, "It was great to have the feeling that I would not have to take medication any longer to make it go away." Her recovery was so complete that she was able to discontinue her medications for the Meniere's disease she had been treating medically for 14 years.

In noting how unsuccessful medical care is for cases of Meniere's disease, as well as the possibility of medical and surgical side effects, the authors note in their discussion that, "There needs to be more awareness and improved education toward helping those individuals whom suffer with Meniere's disease to find a safer and less invasive solution to their problem."