Progression of hearing loss in bilateral Menière's disease

Otologists may be reluctant to perform labyrinthectomy in unilateral Menière's disease, fearing the later development of bilateral disease and severe hearing loss in the previously normal ear. To illuminate this issue, we reviewed audiologic records for 85 patients diagnosed as having bilateral Menière's disease at the University of Washington Hospital from 1969 to 1986. The progression of hearing loss in each ear was noted, as well as interaural relationships. Nine patients experienced a significant reversal, in which the initially better ear surpassed the other ear in hearing deficit, but only one of these patients could at any time have been considered a labyrinthectomy candidate, according to hypothetically liberal audiometric criteria.