Typical characteristics of the symptoms of patients suffering from Ménière’s disease and the multidisciplinary approach

Abstract

Introduction: Ménière’s disease (MD) is a disorder that affects the inner ear, characterized by vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss and vegetative symptoms. One of the main points of the management of the patients is the analysis of the vertigo diaries. Aim: To identify the typical characteristics of the symptoms and to highlight the importance of multidisciplinary approach. Material and method: 58 (12 male and 46 females, mean age 56.97 ± 10.45 SD) definite MD patients were enrolled in this investigation. The vertigo diaries filled out by the patients were analysed. The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS V24 software. Since the parameters did not show normal distribution, non parametric test (Mann–Whitney U test) was used. Results: Based on the diaries, the most tormenting symptom is vertigo (mean power: 5.38 ± 2.06 SD), the second one is tinnitus (4.54 ± 2.81 SD), and last one is headache (2.77 ± 3.1 SD). Despite the frequent prevalence of associated headache, vestibular migraine could be ruled out in all of the cases. Another important outcome was that the attacks associated with headache were significantly stronger (p = 0.001). In the case of the vegetative symptoms, the association was even much stronger (p<0.01). According to the narrative analysis, the most frequent provocation factors of the attacks were the cold front and stress. Conclusion: Along with the treatment of vertigo, the management of the associated symptoms (headache, vegetative symptoms) is also of great importance. Monitoring the quality of life and psychiatric disorders suggests the importance of multidisciplinary approach.