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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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In Vivo Morphometric Analysis of Human Cranial Nerves Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Menière's Disease Ears and Normal Hearing Ears
Published on: February 21, 2018
Bilateral hearing levels in Meniere's disease may fluctuate simultaneously
Yoshihiro Nitta1, Hideaki Naganuma2
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Hearing fluctuations in Meniere
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Audiology
- Neurology
Background:
- Unilateral Meniere's disease (MD) patients exhibit hearing threshold fluctuations in both ears, even early on.
- Synchronized bilateral hearing fluctuations may indicate a link to MD's underlying pathophysiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hearing fluctuations in the affected and unaffected ears of MD patients occur simultaneously.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 2985 pure-tone audiometry tests from 217 definite MD patients.
- Calculated hearing threshold differences across low, middle, and high frequencies between consecutive tests.
- Assessed if the unaffected ear showed corresponding changes when the affected ear fluctuated by ≥10 dB at multiple frequencies.
Main Results:
- Significant association found between hearing fluctuations in the affected ear and simultaneous changes in the unaffected ear across all frequency ranges (p < 0.01).
- Changes in both ears occurred in the same direction.
- No change in the affected ear corresponded with no change in the unaffected ear.
Conclusions:
- Hearing fluctuations in Meniere's disease appear to occur synchronously in both affected and unaffected ears.
- This synchrony suggests potential systemic or central nervous system involvement in MD.
- Synchronous fluctuations highlight the need for comprehensive monitoring of both ears in MD patients.
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