Below are lists of symptoms and triggers experienced by Menieres Patients and also a list of things that trigger the symptoms. The items in these lists have been gathered and compiled from other menieres sufferers. Most books or articles on Menieres Disease list the 4 basic symptoms, but we have found there are many more symptoms the doctors won't tell you about. It has been my experience that I have learned more about this disease from other sufferer's than I have from any doctor I have ever been to.

Giddy	Light-Headed	Feeling Faint	Spinning
Floating	Poor Concentration	Anxious/Nervous	Hot & Cold Feeling
Weakness	Headaches	Heavy-Headed	Disoriented
Nausea/vomiting	Shakiness	Fuzzy Head	Poor Memory
Swaying	Staggering/drunk feeling	Confused	Off Balance
	Ear Pressure/plugged	Ears Ringing	Blurred Vision

Looking up in the sky	Walking on uneven surfaces
Airports/Busy shopping malls	Looking at crooked pictures on walls
Closing your eyes while standing	Crowds either inside or outside buildings
Patterned floors or vertical/horizontal lines	High ceilings in buildings
Video Games	TV Shows/Commercials
Ceiling Fans	Movement of Trains or cars going by
Loud sudden noises	Movie/Imax Theatres
Bright or fluctuating lights	Headlights of oncoming cars
Going up or down stairs	Sunlight shining through trees while driving
Elevators or Escalators	Walking in darkness
Getting up too fast from either lying or sitting	Turning your head too fast
Bending over	Getting out of car after driving/rocky boat feeling
Weather changes/barometric pressure	Sitting on furniture that moves
Side effects of certain medications	Lack of Sleep
Staring at computer screens too long	High temperatures - heat waves
Drinking beverages with caffeine	Over-eating foods high in salt or sugar
Molds and Allergens	Dentist Chair
	Watching Someone in a Rocking Chair

Jumping objects (Silverware off table, stairs swing). Reading difficulty (print moves, vision blurs or doubles, words or letters switch. Writing difficulty, Lights glow or emit rays, glare is intensified. Tendency to look down, discomfort increases when you focus at a distance. Increased night blindness, Poor depth perception and moving or flickering lights may be disturbing. The horizon bounces, increased night blindness. Many MMer's cannot look at ceiling fans or a train going by or even just to look up in the sky without falling down.

Hearing can fluctuate, be lost completely, or be unaffected; Distortions such as popping, clicking, ringing or buzzing can occur. Loud environments may be uncomfortable or sickening. Your ears may feel full.

Continual or intermittent nausea. A 'hangover" feeling or seasick sensation in the head and/or stomach motion sickness.

Poor memory, you may forget what you are talking about, grope for words, confusion, disorientation, inability to comprehend directions, instructions. You can't remember what you did a few minutes ago or where you put something. We call this "BRAIN FOG" or "SOMETIMERS". The lack of concentration can be totally frustrating and embarrassing and cause undue stress to the individual.

Clumbsiness (you may drop things, have difficulty threading needles). Sensation of heavy weights on your head. Imbalance, muscle and joint pain. Rocking sensation (as if you are in a rowboat) (we call it "rocky boat"). You have difficulty walking straight and may have slurred speech. Some days people might think you are drunk because of your imbalance. You may feel like you are moving when you are sitting or lying still. Many people use a cane when out in public or even just around their home.

Can be affected by this disease. Because you are sick all the time and dizzy and never know when you will have an attack. Your self-esteem is lost and you may fear even leaving your own home. You become depressed as this is not like the flu and just won't go away after a few days. Many mmer's develop anxiety or have panic attacks and have phobias and must seek help to deal with them. Antidepressants are sometimes prescribed by doctor's to help the patient cope with living with this chronic illness.

Headaches are also common complaints of MM patients. These headaches differ from patient to patient, some are described as "ice pick" headaches while others claim they are tension headaches caused by straining of neck muscles to keep head from moving too fast to cause dizziness. Some people do suffer from migraines and there have been diagnoses of some individuals called "Atypical Meniere's Migraine Induced."

Is another complaint among mmer's. Some people have absolutely no energy to do simple every day tasks. Just getting out of bed for some can be very tiring, while others can keep up with normal activities.

Can also trigger an attack for some people. For instance in a busy restaurant or crowded store. Many people find they cannot hear very well in crowds and just hear "noise". Some have claimed they can hear the person talking if they are looking directly at them, otherwise its just noise. Loud noises also hurt some patient's ears such as fax machines, loud music or TV.

Many mmer's who are affected by these "other" symptoms are thought to be lazy or labeled as hypochondriacs. There are many patients who are well educated and have difficulty performing their jobs and some have even been "fired" or "let go". Some are housebound and cannot leave their home without help. Many people suffering from MM also have difficulty shopping in malls or big stores with high ceilings such as Wal Mart and Costco and warehouse stores. Some are too scared to drive for fear of having an attack, some fear having an attack in public.

Dietary restriction of salt intake is primary. Most people consume over 10 grams of salt daily. Under normal conditions, the body rquire 2 grams or less. The taste for salting food is an acquired one. Most individuals who restrict their salt intake become keenly aware of excess salt added to their food. Over time, salt restriction results in decreased fluid accumulation int he inner ear, reducing excess pressure on the nerve endings of balance and hearing.

Smoking must stop immediately. Smoking constricts and reduces blood flow to the tiny blood vessels which nourish the inner ear nerve endings. Caffeine in coffee, tea and chocolate must also be eliminated from the diet since caffeine excessively stimulates nerve endings. Reasonable exercise such as a daily brisk walk will stimulate circulation and help blood flow. A regular exercise program is also helpful.

Stress, emotional or physical, also seems to play a significant role in precipitating attacks. Some researchers have considered Meniere's a psychosomatic illness. This is certainly not true in all cases of Meniere's. There is no doubt that stress is often associated with attacks, but whether stress causes or is the result of the attack, is not clear. The vertigo attacks, when they occur, may be so frightening and unpleasant that apprehension exists constantly. The patient fears that an attack may interrupt life at any time. This can result in added fears and stresses worsening the condition.

It is important for the individual with Meniere's to gain control again over the illness and be able to prevent attacks. This can often be achieved by medical therapy and rehabilitated lifestyle. In those cases where medical treatment and lifestyle modifications are not successful (usually less than one-third), surgical treatment is often the curative solution.