As anyone with Meniere’s disease knows, it’s not a fun disease to have at the best of times. But when you add a cold to the mix, it ranks somewhere on the awful scale between a paper cut in the eye, and being forced to watch every episode of the new Full House remake.
Most people with Meniere’s don’t give colds a second thought – until they catch their first one after being diagnosed. Then they get to experience attacks like they’ve never felt before, and when combined with the cold, it’s usually enough to knock them completely out of commission for a few days.
After receiving my diagnosis a few years back, I barely acknowledged the first time I started to get the sniffles. Like most men, I figured if I got a cold, I would just stoically lie on the couch and suffer in silence for a few days – even if my wife might not necessarily agree with my version of events.
Of course, the sniffles quickly morphed into brutal vertigo attacks, until it reached the point where I couldn’t function at all. And with every subsequent cold I’ve had over the years, those same attacks return. First comes the vertigo, and then my balance goes – it’s like I’ve been returned to the dark days of when I was first learning to cope with my illness.
But recently, I started to wonder why Meniere’s disease is affected so much by colds. If you talk to fellow sufferers, nearly every single one of them will agree colds are terrible to deal with when you have Meniere’s.
I decided to take this question to my amazing balance rehabilitation physiotherapist. He confirmed colds did incredibly nasty things to people with vestibular disorders, but he hadn’t read any research as to why. His theory was that the cold put pressure on the ear, which resulted in the out of control vertigo, loss of balance, and general desire to pull a van Gogh on your ear in a futile attempt to reduce the suffering.
Not quite satisfied with this response, I took the question to my ENT. He was a little more helpful, even though he wasn’t aware of any research on the subject either. But he said the consensus among ENTs, was that the cold affected the fluids in the ear – something that was already out of whack among Meniere’s sufferers.
Armed with this knowledge, I decided to research if there was any way to mitigate the suffering during a cold. Unfortunately, I should have listened to both my physiotherapist and ENT – there was virtually no information out there about Meniere’s disease and colds.
But after a few more colds and some trial and error, I did find that rigidly sticking to the hydrops diet did help a little bit. I found by reducing my salt intake (unfortunately, no chicken soup for me), cutting out all alcohol and caffeine, and by limiting my sugar, having a cold was somewhat tolerable.
Of course, even if you’re strictly following the diet, having a cold is still no picnic, but it does help. What also probably helps now, is that I’ve grown used to the vertigo, and my balance has been improved through years of balance rehabilitation.
So, does a cold affect your Meniere’s disease? Let me know in the comments below, and any tricks you learned for dealing with a cold when you have a vestibular disorder.
I’m a 36 year old female sufferer of Meniere’s and properly diagnosed for about 2 years. Due to participating in a clinical trial my full on vertigo attacks have been weeks apart but today it was horrific and I put it down to a terrible cold I have had for a couple of days. I had the full spinning, vomiting and have ended up in bed all day trying to sleep. I definitely believe this cold was the trigger! It really helped reading your article. Thanks, Sam
Sam,
I’m sorry to hear it got so bad for you during the cold, and it really does seem like colds make it so much worse.
I hope the trial goes well for you.
-Robert
Hi
I’m 39 years old and was diagnosed with menieres two years ago. I have only had one full dizziness / womiting / spin attack the last year, bur is struggeling light dizziness, fullness, headaches, Neck and facial pain. Got a could the other day, and is struggeling with stronger symptoms. Can feel the dizziness, but the fullness and pain is the main problem.
I’ve definitely been there before. It’s amazing how a cold can knock you back again. Hopefully it clears up soon, and while I find the dizziness is usually worse for longer, it usually gets better within a week or so.
My boyfriend has MD and tinnitus and currently has a cold that has kept him in bed for the last 3 days. He thank goodness does not have the vertigo attacks but the pressure in his head and congestion is aggravating his left ear to a point that he can’t really hear. The doctor prescribed the z pack and cough medicine for his cold but it doesn’t seem to be making him better. He’s already on a low sodium diet and a diuretic for his MD. What did you take for your cold?
Unfortunately, there’s not much I’ve found to help during a bad cold. The best thing in my experience is really, really watch your diet and fluid intake. When I have a nearly perfect diet, then I find the symptoms reduce a little bit.
Diagnosed a year ago and it’s only recently that I’ve realized that a cold or allergy attack triggers an episode for me. For me it appears to hit 2-3 days later as the cold symptoms are beginning to improve. The dizzy, off kilter feeling with nausea and lightheadedness is so bad. And appears to last 2-3 days.
I was diagnosed with MD last year but have suffered for 4 Years. My vertigo attacks result in vomiting and being bed bound for hours each time. My attacks can last for 3 weeks non stop. I have just started randomly having vertigo attacks again and have a very sore throat. I did wonder if it could be a cold or sinus related illness that could of triggered it. I’m glad I read this and I’m hoping it passes quickly.
Please all of you with menieres! Go to an upper cervical chiropractor! As they just found that menieres is caused by a head/neck (whiplash) trauma (meniere doesn’t appear until 15-25 years later). You all can google it! You’ll get rid of it! Greetings from a former meniere patient in Sweden.
I find chiropractor‘s to be quack medicine. Proceed with caution.
Thank you, Frida!
I have researched it and it makes so much sense now! C1 and C2 misalignment may be the cause! Ahhhh! I can’t wait to give NUCCA a try!
Ive been going to a chiro 2 yrs now, will say it has helped Alot. He has minimized my migranes with auras, keeps the headaches away for about 2 weeks. My vertigo attacks have lessened but while it has helped ,the daily symptoms are still there, he has just minimized it some. The tinnitus I can deal with but the daily nausea is what i cant deal with and the off feeling. Even without dizziness or vertigo I still have a constant off feeling in my head
I’ve had symptoms most my life but easily dismissed until recently – I got a complicated medical history including chronic migraines and a pituitary adenoma. Currently going through my first cold since diagnosis and the lights are triggering horrible dizziness. The symptoms have just got worse every day so far.
I definitely feel for you, Ellie. This disease is tough at the best of times, but during a cold it’s truly terrible. And lights do a number on me as well. I found switching them to warm light LEDs helped a lot. I’ve read that certain lights can be more triggering than others, and CLFs and fluorescent bulbs are supposed to be the worst. Also, bright lights are a major trigger as well, so try to go for less lights if it’s possible in your place.
I hope you feel better soon.
I bought special glasses with rose lenses that have helped tremendously. I used to have drop attacks when i would go into big stores with heavy flourescent lighting. I feel like an idiot with my pink lenses ? but it sure has helped me shop again
I’ve heard about those but have never tried them. Did you get them from an optometrist?
Hi Robert, I have had MD for about 15 years now and catching a cold definitely brings the off kilter, woozy off-balance feeling again. I’m just getting over a cold and now that the cold symptoms are abating, the MD symptoms are getting a bit worse, so frustrating. You say to watch your fluid intake, do you mean cut back on it or drink more? I drink quite a bit of water but could do with knowing if this is the right way to go at the moment, while the cold is in the last stages? I look forward to your reply, many thanks, Carrie
I was recently diagnosed and still unsure if my Dr is correct. Over the past few years every time I get a cold I end up with ear infections and last year even a ruptured eat drum. Is this common with MD? How do I go about finding a good ENT? I have so many questions that were not answered.
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for your wonderful article. I’ve had bilateral MD for most of my life. I never noticed any correlation between MD symptoms and colds until this nasty cold. My balance is so off whack that my body moves in strange ways. I have dizziness bordering on vertigo and nausea. I’ve had to stay in bed most of the time this week. I thought maybe this horrid cold could be a trigger for my MD symptoms being worse this week. There’s a wonderful support group on Facebook. It’s Living With Meniere’s Disease. It’s a closed group so people have to request to join.
Hello Theresa. I’m sorry to hear you’re having a bad time with your cold, but I can definitely relate having just come out of a really bad cold myself (it’s the season). It’s really amazing how much it can exacerbate existing symptoms and I was bed bound for several days there. And I’ll definitely look into the support group on Facebook.
Have had MD for 6 months. All the routine check ups. Have had 3 vertigo episodes. Last one I have some sinus issues that I’m sure started it. My episodes are not too bad but keep me down. I have been doing upper cervical adjustments for three months and do think it helps keep the symptoms down and I recover quickly. I’ve also followed a diet with low salt, no caffeine, etc. I’ve also stayed off all prescription meds or otc meds. These could be the start of the MD to begin with and they make episodes worse. I take a lot of natural supplements and they help to heal the body over time. Turmeric for inflammation, ginkgo, calcium, and 3000 mg b12. Multi vitamin. Doctors can only treat the symptoms, but you have to help the body heal itself. MD is not a disease, it’s a reaction of what’s going on in your body. You also have to be stress free to beat this. Try as hard as you can not to let this or daily things get to you. Everyone’s trigger is different find what yours are. Might do a blood test to see what minerals you are lacking. I’m also looking into my mercury fillings. I have five that have been in 40 years. Look up the video of the Boston symphony conductor who took his out. This is just another ailment in life, stay strong everyone! Enjoy the good days and don’t stress on the bad ones. May God bless us all!!
I’ve had MD for 6 years. The thing I fear most are the vertigo attacks, they incapacitate me for hours, lay on the bed eyes closed without moving an eyelash except for vomiting. I can live with the tinnitus, the imbalance the fullness in the ears but I dread the vertigo attacks. Thankfully these attacks are very infrequent, 2-3 time a year and some years none. I’ve had injections with steroids in the affected ear and it seems to help. It’s very unpredictably. Some colds do not trigger MD attacks but other bring on the symtoms.
The vertigo attacks are truly the worst. It’s hard to express how bad they can be to people how have never experienced them. Did you have an side effects from the steroids in the ear?
I’m 71 and know now that I’ve had MD for decades, though only diagnosed about 2 years ago. Originally the episodes were years apart but became more frequent a couple of years ago, sometimes every other day without time to recover in between. I’m almost deaf in the affected ear and my balance is off (much worse in the dark) I’ve had 2 drop attacks, and several of the vertigo attacks have been +9 hours of room spinning vomiting misery. I’ve had steroid injections in the affected ear, a grommet (that fell out) and I now have a T tube. On the recommendation of a friend I went to see an acupuncturist. They don’t treat Meniere’s specifically but treat the symptoms you describe. It was interesting to see the comments about the chiropractor, because after describing my symptoms the acupuncturist immediately suggested that the problem was my neck, which aches constantly and is always painful. I had three sessions of acupuncture and hadn’t had vertigo for 5 months until I caught a cold.. Like Harry it’s the vertigo and it’s unpredictability. that I dread .The balance, the tinnitus and the fullness are an irritating sideshow to the main event.
Minieres for 4 yrs now and though I have had a few colds throughout the yrs none have been as bad as today. Started getting congestion and sore throat past few days, woke up this morning so disoriented. The vertigo is by far one of the worst attacks ive had in a long time. Weird part is I dont get sick , since being diagnosed for some reason I litterly dont get colds/flu. And i have had worse congestion with my daily allergies than with this tiny cold. No clue why the vertigo and off feeling is so bad now. Maybe just the overload from the holidays is adding to it. Must say, i HATE minieres!! The past yr ive done so well at keeping symptoms to a minimum, knowing what triggers me (mainly lights, sounds, motion) drinking nothing but water all day and then adding electrolytes if im going to be in the heat or swetting has been the biggest relief to symptoms. Nothing is helping me today though?
I’d be careful with the water and electrolytes. Too much water and especially electrolytes are the worst cause of attacks. Unless you are running a marathon and sweating it out like crazy. I know it goes against what we typically need for nourishment but electrolytes is basically sodium and sodium + too much water = attacks. You need daily diuretics with your water intake and lots of potassium and no electrolytes.
Waiting for ENT appointment. For suspected MD with hearing problems in one ear bub. Had two severe attacks of vertigo and vommitting but GP prescribed Betahistine. Today after 4weeks on/off cold had attack, but only dizziness, as if drunk, but think meds have helped.
I’ve been struggling with my Ménières symptoms for 3 years. I currently have a cold, mostly head congestion. Makes my ear fullness, hearing, balance and headaches all worse. Is there any cold medication that is effective and safe to take? I have heard that Mucinex might be a good one???
It’s not much help, but I usually struggle through without medication. It’s always a crapshoot whether it’s going to make it worse or not.
I’m 47 and been diagnosed 2 years ago with MD. I had the worst attack a week ago. Vertigo with real fast spinning that lasted 12 hours. Vomiting during the vertigo was the worst. I vomited for an hour straight, I thought my stomach was going to come out my mouth. Head felt real heavy and foggy for several days to follow. It’s just crazy what one goes through. I feel like a cold/allergies/flu plus anxiety/stress are the primary triggers. I can’t even tell if I’m sick anymore until I’m so disoriented and fatigued that I just assume I’m sick. I can’t taste or smell normally for some reason so usually when you get sick those senses give you a clue, so I never really know when or how sick I really am which makes things so much more difficult to control. The only thing I haven’t tried is the chiropractic adjustments. Can people who’ve tried this shine more color on there experience. Also any other MD groups/communities you recommend please let me know. Wish you all the best.
I am curious about this too.
I first want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences! When my MD is at its worst, it’s good to know I am not the only one. I feel like I’ve played with fire here but I came down with a cold on Wednesday; vertigo set in yesterday (Friday) and has continued today and been relatively consistent over the two days. I decided I wanted a glass of wine tonight, which is usually a 1-2 glass/week occurrence. I read cautionary tales about consuming alcohol but 1/2 a glass in and this is the first bit of relief I’ve had in almost 48 hours. Does anyone have personal experience here? As a side note, my neuro-otolaryngologist (there are a few of them out there) prescribed valtrex and zofran to be taken within one hour vertigo symptom onset. This has helped for the past year but did not seem to alleviate symptoms this time.
HI All
I’m so glad I found this blog! I’m not alone anymore!
MD diagnosed 25 years ago. It’s quite manageble normal days but now I have been struggeling for a month with the dizzyness, pressure in my head and fullness in my ears. Since two days ago, I have a head cold and the fullness, dizzyness, ringing is much wors now and is getting me under. I’ve been feeling like this for a month now, as I said, but what is very interesting to me, is that I was wonderling this last week if the stiffness in my neck couldn’t be the cause of this? And now I read that indeed, it can be!
You’re definitely not alone. We’re all here suffering right beside you. 🙂
But I’m glad you found this article. One of the biggest problems with meniere’s is wondering ‘is this normal’?
Hello all!
I have had active Ménière’s disease for 7 years now. Colds are definitely horrible for me as well. The pressure and tinnitus is amplified quickly and I get vertigo spells. One thing I find that may help slightly is as soon as I start to notice my cold symptoms, I start taking decongestants (Sudafed) to try to keep the pressure from affecting my ear. Usually if I catch it early enough it’s not as bad. Hope this helps someone!
I have had md for about 12 years now. I always feel crazy and alone and desperate. I have gotten a cold and it has made me very nauseous. After reading this blog it is helpful to realize there is a link to the cold and md. Makes sense. Increased pressure on the ears will kick off symptoms.
I would like to learn more about help from a chiropractor.
I am 40 year old female with undiagnosed MD. I have had only two vertigo attacks in a 3 year period.
I currently have terrible head cold, witch makes my MD worse I am constantly woozy, the tinnitus is way worse than normal. I just came across this article, and really never thought of how much a cold could effect MD, but it make sense since MD effects inner ear fluids. I already eat a low carb, low or sugar diet. Good to know others out there are experiencing these symptoms as well. Sometimes I feel like im the only person goung through this.
i have an odd connection with you all. My 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with this disease in March of this year. While it stumped the doctors due to her being a child she has finally been correctly diagnosed. She has been under going treatment at Cleveland Clinic since then. Dr Samantha Anne at the CC has been working on a cochlear implant designed to help with vertigo. We are 3 test away from surgery. Long story short, she currently has her first cold since being diagnosed. i thought she was just having another attack but after it came and went the past two days i decided to look it up and see if there was a conection.Thank you for this post!!
I can’t imagine how hard this must be for a 10 year old to deal with, but I’m glad you were able to get her diagnosed and the implant offers relief. I hope she feels better soon, and colds are always rough with meniere’s disease.
I was diagnosed with MD 12 years after many years of dizziness and deafness. Several of my family also have the disease. Three years ago I had a very long bout of organizing pneumonia and was put on high doses of steroids for over 1 year. During this time my MD symptoms stopped. As the dosage was reduced the MD attacks returned with one major hit in 2021 – COVID stopped all medical support, so I had to either ride it out or quietly increase the steroids. Yes, I have been continually advised by specialists for my IPF that I have to get off the meds due to terrible side effects but they make life far better for me and have helped my IBD as well. On the subject of colds and MD, I have a cold at the moment and my tinnitus and earaches have gone bonkers. During my recent bout of Covid, the same thing happened. Whoosh whoosh screech all the time. Like many of you, I do loads of research for all my autoimmune problems and the goal posts keep shifting. There needs to be more patients in the specialist medical field who understand first hand the MD issues. This improvement would help researchers rather than them talking to mice, not much conversation or feedback there, just a few squeaks.
Reading this with a cold having just had an attack but this was the first time I have been sick . The spinning and disorientation was the worst I’ve had to date and then after about 20 minutes I was throwing up. I just curled up on the bathroom floor waiting for it to stop , I must have fallen asleep as woke up 2 hours later
I am 73, diagnosed with Meniere’s 25 years ago, based on only four of the 5 symptoms, on just one side: tinnitus, fullness, hearing loss (which is practically complete at this stage) and hyperacusis (which I don’t see any of you mentioning but is one of my worst issues.) Blessedly, until 3 days ago – I had only ONE (1) instance of severe vertigo. It passed pretty quickly and that was it. But now I have a “regular” cold, and vertigo that comes and goes with certain head movements. My PCP prescribed Meclizine, which seems to have help. She also suggested I try Brandt-Daroff exercises to control vertigo over time, if it continues. I tried them yesterday and barely got through two sets.
On a whim I googled “Colds and Meniere’s” and found this informative blog. It is good to know there are others…I can now at least sympathize a bit with all of you who have the severe vertigo. Yikes! Anyone else try the exercises? I am still hoping this is all a one-off for me…but just don’t know. 25 years of colds, severe allergies and all of a sudden this is triggered? Weird.