Meniere’s Disease Treatment

Meniere's Disease Treatment

Meniere’s Disease:

Meniere’s disease is a condition which affects the inner ear. If you have Meniere’s disease, you may experience symptoms like ringing in the ears, a spinning sensation and hearing problems. In this article the treatment options for Meniere’s disease will be discussed, as well as how Chinese Medicine can help with treatment.

Treatment for Meniere’s Disease:

Although Meniere’s disease is a chronic disease with no cure discovered yet, there are still options for treating the symptoms. Medications are often used in Western Medicine, and surgery may be used in severe cases.

Your doctor may prescribe medications to help with Meniere’s symptoms. Symptoms of vertigo, nausea, and vomiting can be eased by motion sickness medication or anti-nausea medication (antiemetics).  

Meniere's Disease Treatment

Since Meniere’s disease is thought to be caused by problems with the fluids inside your ear, some doctors may try to reduce the volume of fluids in your body by prescribing diuretic medications.  To treat vertigo symptoms (a spinning sensation), doctors may also inject medications into your inner ear through the middle ear.

Physical therapists may help you to reduce vertigo symptoms, through various exercises. These exercises will train your brain how to account for the difference in balance between both of your ears, through the vestibular rehabilitation process.

Hearing loss caused by Meniere’s disease may be treated by an audiologist, by fitting you with hearing aids.

Most people with Meniere’s disease don’t require surgery, but some may if they experience severe attacks and haven’t had success with other treatments. An endolymphatic sac procedure is one way to help decrease the production of fluid in the inner ear and promote a flow of fluid out of the ear instead.

Meniere's Disease Treatment

Effect of Diet on Meniere’s Disease:

Changing your diet may lessen your Meniere’s disease symptoms, by decreasing the production of fluid in your inner ear.  Foods to limit or exclude from your diet are salt, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol. MSG is also on this list.  Also, remember to drink enough water each day (six to eight glasses), to help your body remove excess fluids.

Other Lifestyle Tips to help Treat Meniere’s Disease:

Resting when you feel an attack of vertigo may help you manage your symptoms, while eating regularly may also help to regulate fluids in your body.  This may help decrease your symptoms too. Managing stress and anxiety through therapy, medication or meditation are other ways to manage symptoms of Meniere’s Disease.

It’s also important to avoid smoking and allergens, which can worsen Meniere’s disease symptoms.

Outlook for Meniere’s Disease Patients:

While there is no cure so far for Meniere’s disease, the good news is that most peoples’ symptoms go away by themselves over a few years.  The treatments listed above may also work for you to help decrease your symptoms.

Meniere's Disease Treatment

Chinese Medicine: How can we help You?

Traditional Chinese Medicine takes into account deeper causes for problems such as Meniere’s disease.  This is because in Chinese Medicine, the organs and systems of the body are seen as interrelated, with weaknesses or imbalances in certain organs causing specific symptoms in other parts of the body.  Meniere’s disease is linked to fluid retention in the inner ear, which is affected by the flow of energy (Qi) through the body.  By boosting the organs which help with proper storage, circulation and generation of Qi (the kidneys, lungs, and spleen), the symptoms of Meniere’s Disease may be lessened.  Chinese medicine helps to balance the body’s systems in this way through techniques such as acupuncture and Chinese herbs, which are gentle and effective treatment options.

For more information about how Chinese Medicine can help you treat ear problems like Meniere’s Disease, click here.

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Martel, J. (2018, September 28). Meniere’s Disease. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/menieres-disease

Centre of Balance: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine. (n.d.). Archive for category: Ear Clinic.  https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/ear-clinic/

Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine. (n.d.). Archive for category: Meniere’s Disease. https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/a-z-diseases/menieres-disease/

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Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.