Environmental causes of Meniere's disease

Noise pollution

Today's world has become even noisier than it has ever been. With rapid technological changes and innovation, noise appears to be among the few pollutants humankind will never eliminate. Today we work and stay in noisy environments such that we can't feel its noisiness any more. However the effect of noise is difficult to ignore.

This condition is the most common cause of tinnitus (a symptom of Meniere's disease), with about 90% of 50 million Americans suffering from tinnitus.

Loud noises are famous of damaging or destroying the cilia (hair cells that prevent dust from entering the inner ear) in the middle ear. When damaged or destroyed, the cilia cannot be renewed, and don't re-grow.

The functions of the sensory cilia include sensing and facilitating fluid flow in the inner ear, thus determining your balance and hearing ability. The cilia can also help in sensing the external environment and trap any foreign substances which may damage the inner ear. So, if the cilia get irritated, you're more likely to experience some sensory disorders and imbalance in your auditory system.

Also, when the cilia (situated in the cochlea) detect some pressure from the external environment, they swing around. The pressure in the cilia prompts electric translation of these stimuli to the brain via the auditory nerve which is translated by the brain as sound.

So when the cochlea becomes irritated, the cilia confuse the external stimuli with internal stimuli. The brain translate the internal stimuli as sound waves, hence tinnitus sufferers experience a lot of uncertain noises. When the labyrinth gets damaged, usually due to a blow to the head, your hearing and balance nerves may transmit confusing messages to the brain as well, causing imbalances.

Examples of noises:

• Gunfire shots
• Loud speakers
• Machines in factory or other noisy equipment
• Earphones
• Police or ambulance sirens
• Explosives at a military camp
• Sports fans at a stadium or an arena

Besides causing Meniere's disease, loud noises can cause many other complications such as:

1. Vertigo
2. Hypercusis
3. Tinnitus
4. Recruitment

Other causes of Meniere's disease:

• Abnormality of fluids in the inner ear
• Bacterial and Viral causes of Meniere's disease
• Biological causes of Meniere's disease