Meniere Mira — Meniere's Disease: Vertigo, Tinnitus & Hearing Loss
The room spins without warning, one ear roars, and she has to grab the wall to stay upright
Mira is halfway across the kitchen when the room lurches sideways. Her right ear roars, she cannot hear her daughter, and she drops to the floor to stop the spinning.
Excess endolymph builds up in Mira's inner ear, distorting the structures that control balance and hearing. The result is the Meniere's triad: violent rotational vertigo lasting minutes to hours, tinnitus (roaring or ringing) and fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, usually in one ear, often with a feeling of ear fullness. Attacks come without warning, so safety is the top nursing concern. Management is a low-sodium diet, diuretics, avoiding caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, and lying still in a quiet dark room during an attack.
Read Meniere Mira's full story →The story arc
The setup
Mira notices intermittent fullness and a low roaring sound in her right ear, with hearing that comes and goes.
The turn
Without warning the room begins spinning violently for two hours, with nausea and vomiting.
The crisis
An attack hits while Mira is on the stairs and she nearly falls down a full flight.
The save
Mira learns to lie still in a quiet, dark room during attacks, follows a low-sodium diet with her diuretic, and cuts caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.
NCLEX study section — Meniere's Disease: Vertigo, Tinnitus & Hearing Loss
What this chapter is testing: the recognition cues, the numbers and the priority action.
Study section: Health Assessment
Take this chapter into practice questions on the same topic.