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First Case of Meniere's Disease

Meniere's disease is now a fairly well-known inner ear disorder, says the MayoClinic website, with symptoms that include vertigo, the feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning; a feeling of fullness in the ear; and tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear. In the past, however, this group of symptoms wasn't recognized as being related or belonging to this particular disorder.

  1. Prosper Meniere

    • Meniere dedicated his life to the care of the deaf.

      Prosper Meniere was a physician born in Angers, France, in 1799, says the Lancet medical journal. In 1838, Meniere was appointed director of the Institute of Deaf-Mutes in Paris, and that same year married the daughter of one of its prominent members. For the rest of his life, Meniere would dedicate his work to the care of the deaf and would revolutionize the approach to vertigo.

    Meniere's Original Case

    • In 1848, Meniere published what has been described as the first documented case of Meniere's disease, says a 1997 article in the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. He describes two cases of sudden deafness, followed shortly by death. He found in the deceased's labyrinth of the inner ear a "reddish lymph" and a similar "lymph of clear yellow." It is now known, however, that these two cases were not due to Meniere's disease at all.

    Controversial Theory

    • A pigeon helped explain the mechanism behind balance disorders.

      In 1861, Meniere presented a paper to the Imperial Academy of Medicine in Paris, says the Lancet, questioning the theory at the time that vertigo was a form of stroke or epilepsy, and asserting that the inner ear maintained balance, a theory that most of the medical world disagreed with.

      Meniere based his theories partly on the observation of patients with vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus. For example, he found that patients with vertigo did not lose consciousness during their episodes. Meniere also drew from the work of Pierre Flourens, a French physiologist, who showed that removing part of the inner ear of a pigeon resulted in loss of balance.

    Meniere's Conclusions

    • As a result of his research, Meniere was able to conclude that damage in the semicircular canal, a part of the inner ear, may be the culprit for vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus.

      Following his death in 1862, the concurring symptoms of vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus became more and more recognized. Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist, coined the phrase, "Meniere's disease," in the 1870s.

    Modern Day Research

    • Since Meniere's discoveries, much research has been done regarding the causes of the disease, but nothing definite has been pinpointed. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) cites a rupture in the membranous labyrinth, a part of the inner ear, which allows fluids to mix, resulting in the symptoms of Meniere's disease. What causes the rupture, whether environmental or biological, is still under speculation.

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