PSYCHOSOMATIC ASPECTS OF MENIERE'S DISEASE

Abstract

It is the purpose of this paper to suggest that a basic disorder of personality usually is present in patients suffering from Ménière's disease and that the first attack and many subsequent attacks are caused by vascular phenomena in the labyrinth, which were brought on by emotional stimuli, so that Ménière's disease is primarily a psychosomatic disorder. The upsets in autonomic control are apparently directly related to unusually violent stimulation to the psyche in a specific type of personality, which has been undergoing stress over a period of time. Occasionally, the stress involves physical fatigue, illness, and surgical or dental operations, but usually the stress is emotional in origin. For the purpose of the study, 23 patients with clearcut Ménière's disease, suffering from paroxysmal attacks of vertigo with nausea and vomiting, in addition to tinnitus and a hearing loss in at least one ear, were selected in rotation as they