A 62-year-old famous singer accidentally fell during a concert. It turns out that many people suffer from the same disease as him!

The day before yesterday (August 14)

#Jacky Cheung fell down during concert due to imbalance in ears#

The news became a hot search

Sparked heated discussions among netizens

Jacky Cheung falls during concert in Malaysia

He then explained

I have suffered from "ear water imbalance" since I was a child.

It happens almost every year

What exactly is “ear water imbalance”?

How to treat it?

Is the frequent feeling of dizziness due to Meniere's disease?

Let’s talk about this in detail.

👇👇👇

What is "ear water imbalance"?

The so-called "ear water imbalance" is medically known as "Meniere's disease" (formerly called "Meniere's disease").

"Ear water" does not mean "water entering the ear", but the amount of circulating fluid in the inner ear, namely the inner ear lymph, is more than normal. It is also called "membranous labyrinthine effusion".

Image source: Gaoding Design

The ear is an important organ for maintaining human balance, and the vestibular system is the main organ for maintaining body balance and spatial positioning perception. When the endolymph fluid in the inner ear is overproduced or does not flow smoothly, causing problems with the vestibular system, paroxysmal vertigo and dizziness, imbalance, and unstable walking, hearing fluctuations, and even tinnitus, which is a constant ringing sound inside. Some patients may even feel nausea and vomiting, and break out in cold sweats when they are severely dizzy.

Vertigo including Meniere's disease

"Prefer" middle-aged people

Keywords: middle-aged people, women, fatigue, poor sleep.

Meniere's disease is not uncommon, with a prevalence of about 34-190/100,000. It can occur in people of all ages, but is more common in middle-aged people and slightly more common in women.

Image source: Gaoding Design

Meniere's disease seen clinically is sometimes combined with other diseases, such as arthritis, psoriasis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome and migraine. There are many reasons for excessive ear fluid, such as genetic factors, infection factors, vascular factors, endocrine factors, autoimmune factors, etc., and the specific reasons vary from person to person.

Common triggers of the disease include fatigue, stress, sleep disorders, and sometimes allergies to certain foods, which can cause immune damage and induce ear water imbalance.

Sleeping more is only a temporary solution

Since "ear water imbalance" is related to fatigue and lack of sleep, can getting more sleep solve the problem? Not necessarily!

Image source: Gaoding Design

For most patients with Meniere's disease, when they experience dizziness, resting in bed can relieve the symptoms, but it cannot "cure the root cause."

Since the cause of Meniere's disease is related to excessive inner ear lymph, wouldn't the problem be solved by reducing the production of inner ear lymph and letting the excess flow away?

However, the medical community is not clear about the causes of excessive production and poor drainage of inner ear lymph. Therefore, since the disease was first reported in 1861, doctors around the world have explored it 162 years ago and found that step-by-step treatment can achieve better results.

Specifically, otolaryngologists should choose individualized treatment measures based on the frequency and severity of each patient's vertigo attacks and the degree of hearing loss, previous treatment history and results, as well as the patient's age and overall health condition.

The treatment principle adopts a step-by-step approach, from non-invasive to invasive:

first step:

Once Meniere's disease is diagnosed, general treatment is started. This includes a healthy lifestyle:

Adhere to a low-salt diet, avoid tobacco, alcohol, coffee, chocolate and other foods, and lead a regular life;

During the attack, patients should rest in bed more often, take anti-vertigo treatment, and provide supportive treatment such as fluid replacement for patients with severe nausea and vomiting;

For patients whose conditions may be related to immune compromise, oral or intramuscular or intratympanic corticosteroids may be considered.

Step 2:

Diuretic therapy is administered for 1-3 months starting from the onset of the disease.

Step 3:

For patients who do not respond well to the above treatments, endolymphatic sac drainage is performed.

Step 4:

For those who do not respond well to the above treatments, gentamicin injection (also known as chemical labyrinthectomy) can be considered.

Step 5:

If the treatment is still ineffective and seriously affects your life, consider vestibular neurectomy or labyrinthectomy. Most patients can see significant improvement within three steps, so there is no need to worry too much about Meniere's disease.

Ear water imbalance ≠ otolithiasis

Some popular science articles equate ear water imbalance with "otolithiasis." Both are the most common inner ear diseases that cause vertigo, and although they are related, they cannot be confused.

Otolithiasis is caused by the otolith particles falling off and entering the semicircular canals, which pull the inner ear lymph flow and cause very short-term vertigo.

The characteristic of otolithiasis is that it is related to changes in body position. Each episode of vertigo lasts no more than one minute. If it is repeatedly induced in the same body position, the vertigo will be weaker or disappear. The treatment method is to use manual repositioning to return the otoliths to their normal position. For stubborn cases, semicircular canal surgery can be performed.

Some patients with Meniere's disease will also suffer from "otolithiasis" as the disease progresses. In general, the treatment effect of patients with simple "otolithiasis" is better than that of patients with both diseases.

Whether it is Meniere's disease or otolithiasis, the best way to prevent it is to have a regular schedule, "relieve stress" for the mind, exercise regularly, and improve immunity.

Feeling dizzy all the time?

May hide multiple diseases

Frequent dizziness and a feeling of dizziness are not necessarily “all due to Meniere’s disease”; there may be multiple diseases behind it.

This condition can be called vertigo. The causes of vertigo are complex and the clinical manifestations are diverse, and anyone from young children to the elderly can be "affected". There was a 7-year-old child in Guangzhou who would feel dizzy when he was excited and nervous. Because the symptoms were difficult to treat, the child had been troubled for more than ten years.

Image source: Gaoding Design

There are many causes of vertigo, common causes of vertigo include cerebral infarction (stroke), posterior circulation ischemia, Meniere's disease, otolithiasis, vestibular neuronitis, etc. Some patients have long-term illnesses, but vertigo that occurs at different ages may be caused by different diseases.

Complex vertigo is difficult to diagnose and requires multidisciplinary investigation to achieve accurate treatment. For dizziness that makes the head spin, you can first go to the otolaryngology department for investigation.

Patients with uneven ear water should also pay attention to the following two points in daily life:

1. Control your diet: For patients with uneven ear fluid, pay attention to a low-salt diet and calcium supplementation. Through scientific eating methods, your physical condition can be effectively improved to achieve the ideal treatment effect.

2. Get more rest: It is recommended that patients pay more attention to rest and ensure that they can get enough sleep every day to reduce the impact of insufficient sleep on the human body and achieve the ideal treatment effect. In addition, they should also pay attention to their emotions and have regular physical examinations.