What are the symptoms of Meniere's disease?

Meniere's disease has a range of symptoms. It is thought they are brought on by an increase in the volume of the endolymph fluid, which is found in the inner ear. The symptoms include:

• Dizziness
• Nausea, vomiting and occasionally diarrhoea, although these symptoms can get better with time
• A ‘blocked’ feeling in the affected ear
• Hearing loss, which tends to come and go in the early stages of the condition (although repeated attacks can cause permanent hearing loss in some people)
• Tinnitus
• Occasionally, oversensitivity to loud sounds – this is known as hyperacusis

 If you have Meniere's disease, you may have bouts of the condition separated by periods when you are not affected by it at all – these periods are known as remission. They may be a few days, or longer than 10 years. Periods of remission vary in each person and over time, which makes Meniere's disease an unpredictable and often distressing illness.