My triad of symptoms to confirm that I had Meniere's was confirmed on February 14, 2020. Since then, a lot has happened, including two annual audiograms. Over all those years, my audiograms showed a hearing loss that never improved. It was something that bothered me to see that other Meniere's patients had periods of hearing recovery, only to slowly lose it. It's not exactly a joy, of course, but at least it gave you a few years of "hearing well" and not suddenly losing your hearing like I did. Well, today my audiogram shows that I've recovered between 5 and 20% at each frequency, but I recovered 20% at most of them. It was something I had noticed myself because I was perceiving new sounds that I hadn't before. For example, now I can hear my dehumidifier dripping in another room, which I couldn't before. Obviously, when we talk about Meniere's, this means it won't be permanent and will return, but at least I've gotten my "extension" of hearing well for a while. In case anyone wants to know my protocol: -Betahistine 24mg/day -Sertraline (right now I've been off it for a month after several years) -Every year I deworm with a syrup. -Gym 3-4 days/week (no joke, I think it's helped a lot). -When it's sunny, I take it for 10-15 minutes. *If I notice any slight sensation that a flare-up might come, I increase the betahistine to 72mg, go back to taking Sertraline, and take 1g/8h of lysine. This only happened to me twice in 5 years and never went further.
Well, that's very good news Ivan! I went completely deaf at times and it was awful. I love to golf but if your golfing partners can't even talk to you, well, you just feel like a jerk for even being there. Fortunately my good ear hearing has recovered for over a year now so I'm feeling lucky. Still have a few, rare dizzy times but I can handle it. I see that Sertraline increases serotonin and so does exercise. So there is a connection there. I hope you continue to improve.
That's great to hear! Thanks for sharing. I have an appointment next week with Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar, who was recommended on this site. I saw from her Google reviews that she prescribes Betahistine. Even though I have had good results from Valacyclovir, I would like to try Betahistine if it will also help. I also started taking Sertraline in mid February, and while it hasn't seemed to make a dramatic difference, I haven't been taking Ativan or I've been taking .25 (very low dose) only when needed, so I guess the Sertraline has helped. Also, I have had only very minor side effects from it, which only lasted about a week. So, my question is this: If you have taken this combination - Valacyclovir, Sertraline, and Betahistine - what is/was your experience? Any input/advice is welcome! Thanks!
Well done, Ivan!! Betahistine helped me tremendously. Also, I started taking gabapentin for focal seizures awhile back. My doctor said it would help with the Menieres as well. He was definitely right! I lost so much muscle going through the Menieres chaos, I started hitting the weights heavy during my workout routine. Also hiking hills every day. Muscle coming back! Still have some hearing issues on the bad ear on occasion, but much better these days. Big thanks to you and the others for recommending the Betahistine! Take care and congratulations!
Ivan, this is great to hear! The big question - are you saying this recovery was spontaneous or was there a particular shift in treatment / environment it can be attributed to? Were these threshold recoveries at frequencies that had been down for years? It would be very interesting to see improvements in those if so!
Greetings to all and thanks for the encouragement. Hi, I took antivirals at the beginning of the vertigo and dizziness attacks. When they stopped, I continued taking them for a few more months, then I took lysine plus antivirals for about 15 days, then slowly reduced the dose. Finally, I took only lysine for about a year. Now I only take lysine every four months to prevent it or if I notice something strange with my head. I do this to find a balance between preventing Meniere's and giving my kidneys/liver a rest. Also, I drink a protein shake for the gym from time to time and I've noticed it's also high in lysine (normal because the "cheap" protein is skim milk powder). In any case, if you're wondering if anything happened to me from taking antivirals, betahistine, and lysine simultaneously, the answer is no. Neither medication caused any significant side effects. Only the antidepressant, which caused me hyperactivity for a couple of months, and while I was taking high doses, my libido decreased significantly. My opinion is that it's the cycle of Meniere's disease itself, which is characterized by fluctuating hearing loss. The only unusual thing in my case is that this happened to me approximately 5 years later. I don't know if this has happened to other Meniere's patients as well; perhaps it's more common than I think. Objective data I can provide: In my audiograms from 2021 to 2024, I had about 67% hearing loss with no significant fluctuations. And now I'm at about 53%. That change occurred sometime between September 2024 and April 2025. But everything I'm doing for my Meniere's started in 2021, except for the gym, which I started in January 2024. I'm not saying the gym is the "cure," but it's the only major change I've made in my life. Correlation doesn't imply causation, but it's a fact we can rely on, and it's not a risky practice with potential side effects like when we try supplements and medications. In any case, I think this is just a fluctuation of the disease itself, which scares me a little because I might be moving toward the next attack. Which doesn't matter to me; I've already accepted that I'll have vertigo at any moment. All I ask is that the disease only destroys my right ear and doesn't attack the left. And yes, I regained hearing in all my lost frequencies; in some, I recovered about 20 dB, in others, only 5-10 dB. I notice it when listening to music; there are certain electric guitar sounds and high notes that enter my bad ear and resonate in my head in complete stereo. It's a bit strange because I hear the bass in mono, but some high notes in stereo. I guess you have to experience it to understand it.