I was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease February, 2013. I’ve had a very long road of trying to get better after seeing the ear specialist at USC House Ear Clinic and then the specialist at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA with the prognosis of permanent hearing loss and vertigo for the rest of my life. This was not something I was going to accept unless I had exhausted all of my options then I guess I would have to accept what the doctors were telling me. After the prescribed medication (Diuretics, Betahistine and Steroids) didn’t work I restricted my diet from caffeine, sugar, dairy, gluten and sodium, I saw a nutritionist, mental therapist (in case this was caused by stress), followed John of Ohio’s regimen, did craniosacral therapy, meditation and acupuncture some of these things helped the symptoms, but it didn’t cure it. I searched the internet for hours, days, weeks and months trying to find a cure. In the meantime, I was trying to hold it together emotionally from the very debilitating symptoms of this disease mainly the tinnitus and vertigo. In July, 2014, I ran across a website that this woman said she had been cured from Meniere’s Disease by an Upper Cervical Health Care Doctor. I searched for other testimonials regarding this procedure and Meniere’s Disease, I couldn’t find anything. I checked to see where they were located and if there was a doctor in Los Angeles. Dr. Drew Hall was in Downtown on Wilshire so I went to see him the first week of September, 2014. I figured it’s a free consultation, what have I got to lose and even though I was very disillusioned by everything else I tried I promised myself to not give up and I will keep trying until I find a cure. After my consultation, I decided to the treatment plan and had x-rays and an adjustment that same day. Dr. Hall did tell me not to expect any results for 6 weeks. I was to see this doctor 2 times a week for the next month. By my 3rd visit (about 5 days later) the violent ringing in my ear was 90% gone, 3 days after that the pressure I felt in my ear was gone, the fluid had drained and my ear opened up, the muffled sounds were also gone. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t say too much to anybody about the results I was experiencing, thinking I’m so excited this is happening, but also thinking when will it come back because it always came back, trying not to be negative. The difference this time was the fluid completely drained from my ear and that never happened before with all the other things I tried. It’s been 5 months and I haven’t had a vertigo attack and the fluid has not returned in my ear and I can hear again! I’ll never get back the 1 ½ yrs. of my life that I missed from being deaf but at least I will be able to hear for the rest of my life! I’m so grateful to Dr. Drew Hall for curing me from this horrible disease before it was too late and I would have lost my hearing completely. I can sleep without headphones and can talk on the phone, but most of all to have peace and quiet in my head without that violent ringing I had heard for over 1 ½ yrs. If you have been diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease, don’t wait go to Upper Cervical Health Centers of America. Since I began treatment at Upper Cervical Health Centers of America I have personally met 2 other patients with Meniere’s Disease that have received the same results as me. Dr. Hall has told me that he has a lot of Meniere’s patients and his success rate is 75%.
Great story, and congratulations on your results. Like most of us, I have been conditioned to be very suspicious of chiropractic practitioners. But if all else fails, I suppose why not? I did everything you did--UCLA, House, JOH. Surgery. I will say up front I won't see Dr. Drew, because I think I have figured out where I am and where I might be, and I am at my best now, which is pretty bad. But I am a really, really extreme case, as Dr. Derebery at House told me. Many of you, especially if near or in Los Angeles, might be able to benefit from whatever it is Dr. Drew does (which you really did not specify.) Worthy of research and consideration, for sure.
wish you continued success i tried nucca for quite a while in austin with dr gregg; great lady; she worked on me and initially "fixed" me. driving home after a couple of sessions i could feel my symptoms melt away; i was SO excited/of course the beast returned after about a month or so; she couldn't calm the beast down after that and i saw her many,many, times. i truly hope you find permanent relief; God speed
I have been doing Nucca for a couple of years. I am not sure if it eliminates my vertigo or Meniere's, but do know that I have less headaches doing it. It also eliminated the remaining limp I had from after I tore my ACL. With this darn disease that hits everyone different and is ever changing, I personally believe anything that possibly works for even one person should be celebrated. Congrats.
Thanks for your response. I know your frustration. I'm sorry you have come to the conclusion that nothing will help you. I also understand that I may be one of the lucky ones who found help and I'm so very grateful for that. I didn't feel the need to describe what Dr. Drew Hall does because you can find out the information through any internet search engine and youtube.com. Basically, if your Atlas and Axis is misaligned it can put pressure on your spinal cord and cause your body not to function properly. Which makes since because this is fluid problem. The treatment is to have your Atlas and Axis adjusted to take the pressure off the spinal cord so that your body can heal and function normally as I understand it. My mother was into both western and alternative medicine when I was growing up. So luckily for me I believed within my heart I would find a cure for this disease, even if the Medical Doctors said there was no cure. I didn't and couldn't give up because I couldn't live another day with this disease. It took me almost 2 years to find the answer, but I'm glad I found help. I hope that one day you can find it within yourself to try to find help again too. I'm currently working on getting this information to Dr. Derebery as she was my doctor too until she told me she couldn't help me. This may not help everyone with Meniere's Disease, but it's sure worth a try. Dr. Hall is an honest man and he told me that every patient he has treated with Meniere's Disease has benefited from his treatment in some way and the Vertigo is the easiest to fix. I wish the best for you and I sincerely hope you get better.
Pretty amazing and its exactly what people seek....relief. So, im just wondering if this assumes some form of hydrops as being a factor?
I am happy you are finding such relief that's wonderful! But I don't understand how this can help the majority of us whose Meniere's is caused by a virus.
I'll bet that some disorders of the inner ear are viral and some are mechanical. In the later, it's probably possible that stress/ misalignment in the shoulders or neck can cause jaw/TMJD issues. It's all connected above the shoulders with tendons and other connective tissue. Structures of the jaw are very close to the inner ear and could cause inflammation in the ear. I'd say it's worth while for those with ear issues to be evaluated for jaw/TMJD.
I tried NUCCA for a time. The Chiro didn't think that it would help my Meniere's or headaches much but I would have a healthier spine. Her program would cost $4800 for starters and I said I would rather not be a homeless person with a healthy spine. That is where I left it. I do see another Chiro who adjusts my Atlas when it is out but that never effects how my ear is doing. Also did physical therapy for TMJ which helped some but not again affecting the ear much.
Interesting many people with inner ear issues seem to have TMJ issues as well. I also notice some have thin straight necks. Purely coincidental I'm sure, just something I notice.
The use of the word "cure" in regard to any period of no Meniere's symptoms often eventually proves to be in error. We all welcome and wish for, shall we say, "permanent remission.” But more often than not, Meniere’s symptoms eventually return when whatever was to have caused the “cure” is discontinued. My study of the matter leads me to believe that there really are no authentic “cures,” where a therapy brings complete and persisting symptomatic relief. The key word is “persisting,” where after the therapy, for the rest of the person’s life, no additional Meniere’s therapies are required. Symptoms have simply terminated, permantently. If Meniere’s is caused by herpes viruses embedded in inner ear or associated nerves (for which there is now abundant clinical evidence), this makes sense. Herpes viruses are well-known for getting their genetic materials embedded inside human cells, where the immune system cannot touch them. Then, from time to time (or even chronically) the herpes genetics hijacks the cell and causes it to produce new virions, virus particles, which are shed and infect other cells. New lesions and inflammation result, causing all of the typical Meniere’s symptoms once again. And perhaps in a minority of cases Meniere’s symptoms are caused by cervical misalignment, putting pressure on nerves or inner ear tissues which likewise cause Meniere’s symptoms. But in either case, after successful therapy (such as antiherpetic drugs for a herpes infection), or chiropractic manipulation for a cervical misalignment, what can prevent either of these from re-appearing? In the case of a herpes virus, the genetic remnants after treatment can once again become active (antiherpetics do not rid the body of these viruses; they only stop their incidental replication). In the case of cervical misalignment, whatever caused that to happen previously can happen again. In both cases, symptoms recur. The “cure” in both cases was only an incidental, temporal suppression of symptoms (but very welcome, indeed). I’d like to think I’m cured of Meniere’s. But I’m not. I was hit by the disease in 1995. I was fully diagnosed, and did the foremost treatment prescribed at the time — low salt and a diuretic. No help. I wrestled with the disease for about five years, personally experimenting with all sorts of putative cures or treatments. Most did not work. I permanently lost the hearing in my left ear. But finally, around the turn of the century, I began to gain ever-longer periods of symptomatic relief from the handful of pills I was taking each day. I continued to experiment and tweak my expanding regimen of alternative vitamins and supplements; to the point — now for about 12 years — I’ve had no Meniere’s symptoms. For that period, I’ve been “cured.” But I know better. I haven’t been cured; just treated. I continue to take each day the majority of the components of my Meniere’s treatment regimen. I’m fully aware that if I think I’ve done something no one else has, that I’ve come up with a real Meniere’s cure, and I then go off the regimen, the despicable little herpes nucleotides in my left inner ear will joyously resume their activity. Symptoms will come right back (and this, probably, will nail the good hearing left in my lone right ear). Oh that there were a real Meniere’s cure; where a single course of treatment, for a specific duration, would guarantee persisting freedom of symptoms. There is little evidence for that; even in cases where the offending inner tissues, themselves — the entire labyrinth, etc. — have been surgically removed. For a while, often even for years, this can bring relief (except for the consequent deafness in the affected ear). But if the cause was a herpes infection, the contralateral ear can, soon enough, be affected. The “cure” then is to remove the labyrinth there, resulting in profound deafness, and continuing balance problems. (Not the cure I’d desire.) But I don’t mean this to be utterly discouraging. Unlike things were when I came down with Meniere’s in 1995, today, there really are therapies that do bring periods of continuing relief. My regimen has done that for me (and many others). Antiherpetic drugs have proven exceptionally efficacious. Cervical manipulations, as described by the first author of this thread, have brought relief. So, instead of searching and hoping for a cure — for which there is little real evidence — we need to be vigilant and persistent in our Meniere’s treatments. There is no real cure. But today, there are treatments that do provide relief, even if they have to be repeated or continued. And no Internet site better lays these out than this one itself. For those interested in alternative and innovative Meniere’s treatments that have brought levels and periods of relief that conventional medicine did not, read all the threads in the Database, here: http://menieres.org/talk/index.php?board=3.0 –John of Ohio
Good points john. Even though there is no cure, there's comfort in possibly understanding the root cause and how to control it. For those cases where structural/mechanical or jaw misalignment is the cause, many other issues that preceded the ear issues (back pain/ facial pain/numbness) are resolved as well, giving greater confidence of a long remission.
Great to hear Bdalusong, I am glad you found relief! It would indeed be interesting for all of us to know what your doctor's treatment is/was exactly. I am particularly curious about your statement that "the fluid completely drained from my ear". How do you know that? From what I know the only way to measure if you do or do not have hydrops (i.e. fluid in your inner ear) is through a procedure called ECOG. It is an expensive and complicated test- In my case I got a needle pushed through my eardrum with an electrode at the end that measures the endolymphatic pressure. See here: http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/testing/ecog.html So when you state that your "fluid has drained" I would like to know how you know that? Did you actually get an ECOG test to prove that? Many thanks in advance for the info.
Thanks for your responses, I may have incorrectly stated “Cure for Meniere’s Disease” but I wanted to get your attention on this forum because I have received such great relief from this Disease and I wanted to put the information out there to try and help others. I’m not a medical doctor, I’m just a normal person who became ill with Cochlear Hydrops and then it turned into Meniere’s Disease. Dr. Derebery at USC House Ear Clinic and Dr. Ishiyama at UCLA Medical Center have both told me that I had fluid in my inner ear (Endolymphatic Sac) and this is why I had hearing loss, vertigo, pressure in my ear and sounds were muffled. I don’t remember the names of the tests done, I’m sorry it was almost 2 years ago. However, I had a special MRI that can determine if you have fluid in the inner ear and that test came back positive with excess fluid in both ears but mostly in my right ear which was the most affected ear. I had a balance test and another test where they filled my ears with fluid along with several other tests. I haven’t had any other test done except for a hearing test since I’ve received relief from the Meniere’s Disease symptoms. My Audiologist said he has never seen results like these. In percentage terms, he said I had about 65% hearing loss and now I’m at 40% which is huge and it’s true I may have some residual fluid in my ears, which I won’t know unless my current treating physician Dr. Ishiyama wants to run more tests when I see him. But, as a person who has physically felt the constant pressure, muffled sounds, hearing loss and vertigo due to fluid, I know that the fluid has either completely drained from my ear or has decreased dramatically. The pressure is gone, the violent tinnitus, muffled sounds and vertigo are also all gone. As to the comments posted here, I’m sorry to hear you researched going to the NUCCA and they wanted a lot of money. I personally don’t know if Dr. Drew Hall is part of that organization, but the names are different he is associated with Upper Cervical Health Centers of America and his consultation was free, the 2 month program was $850.00 which included x-rays and 2 visits per week. Any follow-up appointments after that are $65.00. I personally felt this was very reasonable, especially for the results I received. I purchased a $4,000.00 hearing aid and enough though I wore it every day, I was in fear of losing my job because I couldn’t hear on the phone or in meetings. I couldn’t hear a conversation right in front of me because of the loud tinnitus and clogged ear. I couldn’t sleep until I found listening to meditation videos on youtube.com with headphones helped drown out the tinnitus. I lost being a part of my 20 yr. old college son’s life because I couldn’t hear all the things he was telling his dad at the dinner table. You feel isolated and begin to withdraw from social situations because you can’t hear and are fearful of a vertigo attack. I lost a lot and I couldn’t bear living like this for the rest of my life. I was suffering and I know you are too and that’s why I’m sharing my story. I was willing to try anything. Sometimes you just have to try everything even though all the facts aren’t there. If it works it doesn’t matter at the end of the day except that you are well again.
I wanted to give you an update in my progress with the treatment of Upper Cervical Care Centers of America. It's been seven months since I started treatment and after 8 days the symptoms disappeared and have not returned. I hope you all find help like I have.
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Hello bdalusong how you been doing with your ajustments i know its been a while but i just started treatment with the same DR DREW HALL and my symptoms have been less severe but i want to know an update from you that you did your adjustment 4 yrs ago thanks in advance [email protected] my email