What is ménière's disease?
Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear thought to involve a build-up of fluid pressure in the balance and hearing organs. It causes dramatic attacks of spinning vertigo lasting twenty minutes to several hours, typically with hearing loss, roaring tinnitus and a feeling of fullness in the affected ear. It most often begins between the ages of 40 and 60 and usually affects one ear, though hearing can gradually decline over years and some people develop it in both.
There is no single diagnostic test: an ENT specialist makes the diagnosis from the characteristic pattern of attacks, supported by serial hearing tests showing fluctuating low-frequency loss, and often an MRI scan to exclude other causes such as vestibular migraine or acoustic neuroma.
Common symptoms
- Sudden attacks of spinning vertigo lasting 20 minutes to hours
- Fluctuating hearing loss, usually in one ear
- Roaring or ringing tinnitus
- A feeling of pressure or fullness in the ear
- Nausea and vomiting during attacks
- Unsteadiness and tiredness after attacks
How long will you wait?
Diagnosis and treatment sit within stretched NHS ENT and audiovestibular services — only around 55% of ENT patients are treated within 18 weeks — so reaching a confirmed diagnosis with MRI and starting specialist treatment commonly takes five to eight months.
Privately, you can typically see an ENT consultant within 3–7 days, with hearing tests, balance assessment and an MRI usually completed within 1–3 weeks.
NHS England median referral-to-treatment wait: 12.4 weeks, with 2.5 million people waiting over 18 weeks (May 2026). Individual waits vary by trust and urgency.
Treatment options
- Attack medication. Prochlorperazine or antihistamines settle the vertigo and nausea of an acute episode.
- Betahistine and lifestyle measures. Regular betahistine plus reduced salt, caffeine and alcohol are widely used to cut attack frequency.
- Intratympanic steroid injections. Steroid injected through the eardrum can reduce attacks while preserving hearing.
- Intratympanic gentamicin. A stronger injection option that deliberately dampens the balance organ in severe, resistant cases.
- Vestibular rehabilitation. Balance-retraining physiotherapy helps the brain compensate between and after attacks.
What does private treatment cost?
As a guide, a private consultation costs around £200–£300, an MRI scan £400–£800, and intratympanic injection treatment typically £500–£1,000 per injection.
Does health insurance cover ménière's disease?
Private medical insurance usually covers the diagnostic work-up for new vertigo — consultations, hearing tests and MRI — and acute interventions such as intratympanic injections, provided symptoms began after the policy started. Because Ménière's is a long-term relapsing condition, ongoing medication, routine monitoring and repeat rehabilitation courses are often excluded under chronic condition rules once the diagnosis is established. Pre-existing Ménière's is normally excluded from new policies.
Frequently asked questions
How is Ménière's disease different from ordinary dizziness or vertigo?
Ménière's has a distinctive signature: episodes of true spinning vertigo lasting twenty minutes to several hours — not seconds, as in the common positional vertigo BPPV — accompanied by hearing loss, tinnitus or fullness in one ear. Between attacks you may feel entirely normal. Many conditions mimic it, particularly vestibular migraine, which is why specialist assessment with hearing tests and usually an MRI matters before accepting the label.
Will I lose my hearing with Ménière's disease?
Hearing typically fluctuates in the early years — dropping during attacks and recovering afterwards — but over time many people are left with some permanent hearing loss in the affected ear, usually in the lower frequencies. Complete deafness in that ear is uncommon, and the other ear is unaffected in the majority. Hearing aids help when loss becomes established, and treatment aims to protect hearing where possible.
Can I drive and work with Ménière's disease?
Most people continue to work and drive, but you must tell the DVLA if you have sudden, disabling attacks of vertigo without reliable warning; driving can resume once attacks are satisfactorily controlled. Sensible adjustments — avoiding ladders and unprotected heights during active phases, planning around prodrome symptoms, keeping attack medication to hand — let most people manage well. Employers must consider reasonable adjustments for what can be a fluctuating disability.