In 75 to 90 percent of the cases (depending upon who you ask),
Meniere's disease affect only one ear.  In the other 10 to 25
percent of the cases the rate of hearing degradation varies
significantly from one person to another.  Some people have
attacks ony once or twice a year and if they are mild, the rate
of hearing loss will probably be slow.  Others, I'm told have a
couple of really had attacks and they go nearly deaf in a very
short period of time.  I think the thing to tell your mother is
that if she has Meniere's in one ear now, she has a good chance
that it will stay in that ear and not progress to the other.

Tim Boysen

: My mother has Miniere's disease. She wanted me to ask how long does it
: take for it to destroy the hearing in both ears?

: ... Lead me not into temptation, I can find my own way
        Meniere's disease is caused by an increase in pressure of one of
the inner ear fluids, the endolymph. It usually will occur in only one
ear, but rarely can occur on both sides. The time it takes to damage the
hearing in the involved ear depends on how severe the condition is but
usually takes several years. Unfortunately, there is no good single
medical therapy for Meniere's. In fact, someone counted 114 different
medications that are used to treat it. Since the attacks tend to be
episodic, evaluating therapy can be difficult. Surgical therapy probably
works best but is not worth undertaking unless one is having frequent,
disabling attacks of vertigo. She should see an otolaryngologist for a
baseline audiogram and individual advice.
        Fred LaVenuta

On (15 Mar 95) Jedward Kendrick wrote to Cecil Lemons...

 JK> Does your mother still have all her teeth?  When her teeth touch, is
 JK> the bite closed down so her nose comes closer to her chin?  Are there
 JK> sensitive areas in the jaw joints where the lower jaw meets the
 JK> skull--
 JK> just in front of the hole in the ear?

 JK> These questions pertain to Meniere's which can be dentally related.  
 JK> If you have a positive finding in these areas, let me know and we can
 JK> correspond more.

 My mom has been told by 3 doctors that she has Minere's disease. It is
 not dental related in any way. She said that she doesn't have any of
 the problems you mentioned. She only has 2 teeth missing. She gets
 dizzy alot and is taking medicine for this and it looks to me like the
 medication is causing her to be very drousy at times. She has been
 going to the Shea Clinic in Memphis and has improved somewhat since she
 was operated on there.

... A smile is a curve that can set a lot of things straight.

straight.

Is this John Shea's clinic?  I have read about him.  He
is a big advocate of surgery to correct vertigo
associated with Meniere's.  There are non-surgical
treatments which may also work which you should know
about and are available.  One is intratympanic (through
the ear drum) gentamicin injections.  This treatments is
non-surgical, almost no pain, and stops the vertigo
associated with Meniere's over 95% of the time.  It is,
however, only indicated when all non-invasive treatments
have already been tried and failed.  I.e low salt diet,
diuretics.

Tim Boysen

On (17 Mar 95) Fred Lavenuta wrote to All...

 FL> : My mother has Miniere's disease. She wanted me to ask how long does
 FL> it
 FL> : take for it to destroy the hearing in both ears?

 FL> : ... Lead me not into temptation, I can find my own way
 FL>   Meniere's disease is caused by an increase in pressure of one of
 FL> the inner ear fluids, the endolymph. It usually will occur in only one
 FL> ear, but rarely can occur on both sides. The time it takes to damage
 FL> the
 FL> hearing in the involved ear depends on how severe the condition is but
 FL> usually takes several years. Unfortunately, there is no good single
 FL> medical therapy for Meniere's. In fact, someone counted 114 different
 FL> medications that are used to treat it. Since the attacks tend to be
 FL> episodic, evaluating therapy can be difficult. Surgical therapy
 FL> probably
 FL> works best but is not worth undertaking unless one is having frequent,
 FL> disabling attacks of vertigo. She should see an otolaryngologist for a
 FL> baseline audiogram and individual advice.

 My mother has had what is called a Shunt operation at the Shea Clinic
 in Memphis, Tn. She is still having severe episodes of fluid in her
 ears 3 months after the operation. It seems to come and go. She can
 hear good in the ear that is not affected. The bad ear is her right
 ear. She falls all over the place at times. She has been to several ear
 doctors and all said she has Miniere's disease. Being hearing impaired
 myself, I can sort of figure out what she is going through. I lost most
 of my hearing due to Pnuemonia and the drug streptomycin. I have had
 ringing in the ears for 21 years. My mother's ears are ringing and due
 to my experience with ringing ears (Tinnitus) I have tried to tell her
 that the only way to deal with Tinnitus is to learn to live with it.
 She is very concerned about it and is scared. It will take a long time
 to get used to it.

... Shake your family tree and watch the nuts fall out!