Disability perception in Menière's disease: when, how much and why?

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Neurology
• Audiology

Background:

• Menière's disease (MD) is a complex inner ear disorder.
• Assessing patient-reported outcomes is crucial for understanding disease impact.
• Current staging systems primarily focus on auditory and vestibular criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate self-perceived handicap in patients with definite Menière's disease.
• To identify factors correlating with the level of disability experienced by MD patients.
• To propose improvements for Menière's disease staging.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 90 patients with definite Menière's disease.
• Utilized the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) to measure self-perceived disability.
• Correlated DHI scores with various clinical, audiological, and symptom-related variables.

Main Results:

• Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores indicated mild, moderate, or severe disability in 27.9%, 41.3%, and 30.8% of patients, respectively.
• Significant correlations were found between disability perception and the frequency of typical attacks, time since last attack, intercritical instability, and Tumarkin attacks.
• No significant relationship was observed between DHI scores and other assessed variables, including age, sex, or pure-tone average.

Conclusions:

• Disability perception in Menière's disease is primarily influenced by vestibular symptoms, particularly instability and attack frequency.
• A revised staging system for Menière's disease is recommended, incorporating both auditory and vestibular symptom parameters.
• This approach may lead to a more comprehensive assessment and management of Menière's disease.