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Hearing, Balance Woes Can Signal Meniere’s By Paul G. Donohue, M.D. Dear Dr. Donohue:
A hearing aid usually overcomes deafness.
Please address Meniere’s disease in your column. I am 88, a female and in good general health. I do not smoke or drink alcohol. I weigh 125 pounds and am 5 feet 1 inch tall. My diet consists mostly of health foods. -- G.R.
Dizzy spells are accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Antivert and Phenergan relieve all three.
ANSWER: Vertigo (dizziness), ear noises (tinnitus) and fluctuating hearing loss are the three signs of Meniere’s (men-YAIRS) disease. Vertigo comes in spells lasting 20 minutes or more, and they leave the person off balance for several days. Tinnitus can be ringing, roaring, hissing or other sounds that come and go but eventually stay permanently. The same happens with episodes of hearing loss. It becomes a permanent problem in time. All these signs are due to a buildup of fluid in the inner ear, the place where hearing and balance take place. Treatment of Meniere’s focuses on ridding the inner ear of the fluid buildup. A strict low-salt diet goes a long way in reducing symptoms. The reason is that salt brings on fluid retention. Restricting caffeine and alcohol also helps. Diuretics -- water pills -- might be needed to get rid of the fluid.
Should these measures fail, more-heroic efforts are called into play. One is an injection in the ear of the antibiotic gentamicin, which destroys the ear’s balance organ and eliminates dizziness. Another approach is the Meniett device, a little gadget that creates pressure pulses that are transmitted to the inner ear. The pulses pump fluid out. A doctor has to make a small hole in the eardrum so the pressure waves can make their way to the inner ear. An ear, nose and throat doctor can evaluate you and determine if you are a candidate for these treatments or for other treatments I haven’t discussed. The booklet on vertigo discusses its many causes and treatments. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No. 801W, Box 536475. Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.
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1. FOOD & DRINK: What vegetable also is known as a pieplant? 2. EXPLORERS: Which famous explorer also served as a governor of Arizona in the late 1800s? 3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin term “pro forma” mean?
Here are some food safety tips from the www.IsItDoneYet.gov website:
Picnic Food Warning The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning us about picnic food, and what it says applies especially to seniors. It seems there’s another potential food-borne illness: Listeria. Picnic foods -- hot dogs, deli meats, prepared salads, meat spreads from the deli case and soft cheeses -- can contain bacteria called Listeria. Smoked seafood and unpasteurized milk also can harbor Listeria. Even if the bacteria has been killed by cooking, it can be recontaminated because the bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperature. In addition to food poisoning, those with health risks can come down with a very serious infection after consuming Listeriacontaminated foods. Even for seniors without medical conditions, healing from an infection can include long hospitalizations -- or even death.
• Use a digital thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to the optimum temperature. For ground beef, that’s 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Poultry needs to be heated to 165 F. Cooked hams must be reheated to 140 F. Check the temperature of the food in several places. • Wash hands in warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. • Keep refrigerator temperature at 40 degrees F or less, and freezers at 0 F or less. • Keep your food-prep surface clean, and use paper towels instead of dish cloths to dry the counter. • Rinse produce -- even the kind with rinds that aren’t eaten. • And those hot dogs and deli meats so popular with summer picnics: They must be completely heated to 165 degrees before consuming If you don’t have Internet access, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-674-6854 to order the Food Safety for Older Adults pamphlet or if you have specific questions.
4. MEASUREMENTS: If something occurs every 12 years, what would be the correct numerical term to describe the event? 5. HISTORY: Where did American legend Davy Crockett die? 6. MUSIC: What does the musical instruction “dolce” mean? 7. THEATER: Who wrote the play “The Glass Menagerie”? 8. SCIENCE: What vitamin also is known as riboflavin? 9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What was the name of the Native American chief who defeated Gen. George Custer at the Little Big Horn? 10. PHILOSOPHY: Ralph Waldo Emerson led which movement in the 1800s? Answer on bottom of page 5