Health encyclopaedia

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

Diagnosis of Ménière’s disease

In many cases the diagnosis can be made on the basis of the history, symptoms and clinical signs. Your GP will discuss your symptoms, the frequency and severity of attacks and how the disease affects your life. Your GP will then refer you to an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who will assess the degree of your vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss.

The degree of hearing loss is measured by carrying out an audiogram. This is done with a simple machine that produces tones of adjustable loudness and pitch. You will listen on headphones and signal when sounds are heard or are no longer heard.

The balancing mechanism in the ear can be tested in various ways using vestibulometric tests. A test called a caloric test is done by putting warm and cold water into the each ear in turn. If the labyrinth is working normally, the eyes will flick rapidly from side to side. This is called nystagmus. If the labyrinth has been damaged, eye movement will be reduced.

You may need to have a blood test, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan or CT (computerised tomography) scan to make sure the symptoms are not being caused by something else such as anaemia, hypothyroidism, diabetes or a head injury.

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