I have had meniere's for 12 years; confirmed diagnosis in 2002 and again in 2013. I moved to Fort Collins, Colorado (altitude 5,000 feet) in June, 2013. Soon after I started having more problems with head/ear pressure, dizziness, lightheadedness, nasal congestion and symptoms of allergies. While I have always had allergies with nasal issues, I have never experienced symptoms such as I now have. My meniere's is severe and I am familiar with the 'normal' symptoms of it and have learned to accept and live with it as best I can. But I'm curious if others who have lived in lower altitudes and then moved to a high altitude area have had more problems with their meniere's after the move? I've been to an ENT doctor here as well as a general practitioner...have had a full physical and the ENT did CT scan on my sinuses. Everything is negative and my health is generally good other than the meniere's. We are still trying to deal with my nasal and congestion symptoms...but the dizziness and lightheadedness are still much worse than I've ever had before. My doctors are telling me that altitude should have nothing to do with increasing my meniere's symptoms....but I'm now wondering if they are wrong. Perhaps I am just not adjusting to whatever conditions are found here in Colorado as far as allergies....but I'm not so sure that is the total problem. Allergy treatments I'm using have not lessened the increased dizziness/lightheadedness. Can anyone tell me if they have had similar experiences where their meniere's WAS aggravated by moving to a high altitude area...especially causing more problems with dizziness? I've now been here for over a year and things are not getting any better. As has been for the last 12 years.....doctors only seem to want to 'experiment' with symptom treatment and usually just end up doing me no good at all....we all have to deal with that. But I am in a situation now that I'm trying to figure out if it IS Colorado and if my move here was a mistake, healthwise. Very difficult to deal with meniere's combined with other head problems such as allergies. My enjoyment of life has deteriorated with the onset of meniere's 12 years ago.......but it is now much worse. Can anyone relate to what I'm saying about living in a fairly high altitude? Or is it just a mysterious problem of mine? THX!
I always got less symptomatic when i went to high elevations and also when i went to areas where the climate and vegetation were diferent. My oto told me that ears are VERY pressure sensitive and that the ear is the organ that tells fish their depth. It does not seem unlikely at all that the change in altitude would affect you one way or the other. I am more tuned in however, to the things you note about allergy symptoms being worse. Allergies exacerbate MM symptoms. Have you talked to the allergist about your increease in symptoms? He may want to change what is in your shot to reflect the vegetation where you are now.
I think changes in climate and/or altitude can cause changes with meneires symptoms. I live in North Florida. Hilly and lots of high pressure/low pressure changes in weather. These typically are in late fall and winter. These changes cause my nose to react and send out warning signals to my body to send white blood cells to the rescue. Unfortuneately the body sends too many white blood cells which can cause my body to produce massive amounts of mucous to help eliminate them. Last winter when my ear was first experiencing Aural Fullness I took a trip to South Florida. The day after I arrived my ear cleared up and so did all the mucous my body was making every day in North Florida. Two days back in North Florida and I was back to Aural Fullness and gobs of mucous. Just saw an Allergist and he recommends Flonase for those times I am experiencing lots of mucous. Once in morning and at night. Also, he recoomends using a bulb syringe to squirt a saline solution into the sinuses. He tested for allergies and I don't have any. I don't know if you are experiencing any of the mucous problems. But, if you are experiencing the Aural Fullness then yes changes in altitude might be a factor. Or, maybe you are experiencing many changes in high/low pressure systems which will cause lots of fluctuations in your sinuses which can mess with meneires symptoms. Check out the post by Vicki---3 dimensional cone beam---that post just started today and has lots of interesting info.
But, if you are experiencing the Aural Fullness then yes changes in altitude might be a factor you are probably experiencing more changes in high/low pressure systems which will cause lots of fluctuations in your sinuses which can mess with meneires symptoms. Check out the post by Vicki---3 dimensional cone beam---that post just started today and has lots of interesting info. [/quote]
Appreciate the responses. CT scan showed my sinuses are basically clear. So it is more an allergy thing. Yes....I am producing LOTS of mucous and have used LOTS of saline solution for the last year. Much drier air here too as well as altitude since it is considered a 'high desert' area. Saline helps to remove the mucous. I am on Flonase now and it does help keep my nasal passages clearer.....but has not helped much with the dizziness/lightheadedness. That is my main concern now. And why I'm wondering if it's the meniere's that is being aggravated. A lot more pressure in my head and BOTH ears as well. So I think it may be a combination of allergies and aggravated meniere's. Both of my doctors are mostly just shrugging their shoulders and guessing. I'm sure all of you have the same experience with doctors. It is frustrating but also understandable. I've not been on the Flonase very long and will see how that goes in time. But, again, it hasn't helped with the dizziness and that is my main concern. I love it here otherwise and would hate to have to move away. If anyone on here has moved from low to high altitude such as I have, I'd like to know what their experience has been. We are all different with our bodies and metabolism and maybe it's just my situation. THX.
I have a lot of trouble with altitude change. I live at a low elevation, but I have noticed that if I drive above 500 ft and back down without pressure-regulating ear plugs, my bad ear will get totally stuffed and stay that was for days sometimes. I had two incidents after more severe altitude changes (one was flying), that my symptoms got much worse--including horrible tinnitus with loud alarm-like ringing. So I avoid going above 500 ft, and have cut out all air travel, which is very limiting. It sounds like my Menieres symptoms are different from yours, and still I think some ears can be very sensitive to pressure changes and probably high altitude, too. Because there are so many variations of this disease and little study, it is so aggravating hard to get definitive answers. If you can, I'd try spending several weeks at a lower altitude and see what happens--also trust your own intuition and observations.
I'm in a similar boat -- I moved from basically sea level to Colorado (6500 ft or so) in summer 2013. My MM symptoms don't get better or worse on airplanes, however I've generally gotten a lot dizzier over the last year. I can't say with certainty but I don't think it's altitude related, since things started slowly declining (as in, more days of disequilibrium/dizziness, and lots more aural fullness) since about 6 months before we moved. Thankfully the vertigo has *mostly* stayed at bay. I can say with certainty that my ears ARE sensitive to even slight changes in elevation. Just driving to/from Denver... even across town where I live, a change of no more than a couple hundred feet altitude, I feel the fullness come on. In both ears too -- not just my bad ear. My bad ear gets it worse though. When we drive up in the mountains for vacation or skiing, my ears feel it long before anyone else in the car, if they even feel it at all. Like you, I am happy here, and we've put down roots. Moving is not an option. It's not like every day is a bad day though, so I hang on the idea that the altitude is not a *cause* of my MM issues.
I live in Durango, CO. I was hit with MM in late-June 2014. Had weekly attacks of severe vertigo and vomiting for three months; I call them acute attacks. I may finally have it under control with a diuretic and 2,000mg sodium diet. Going off the diuretic next week to see what happens. While experiencing the acute attacks, I still got out and hiked (all though a lot slower and miserable) at ~12k+ feet. I climbed a 14er three weeks ago. Flew in a commuter plane last week; I think the noise was more of an issue (tinnitus). Mountain biked 31 miles (7 hours) the other week. I am just prepared to stay out for an extra 3 hours if I have an acute attack. For slight vertigo that may lead to an attack I take 2mg of Valium. If symptoms get worse I take another 2mg and hope for the best. In summary, I never know when an attack will occur but have found elevation changes are not a trigger for an attack. Physical excursion is.