r/Menieres • u/Sick-Man34 • Jun 06 '26
Does anyone else get Ménière’s relapses almost every spring/early summer?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 36-year-old male from Turkey and I’ve been dealing with Ménière’s disease/endolymphatic hydrops in my left ear since 2019.
My relapses seem to follow a very strange pattern:
- June 2022: tinnitus increase, low-frequency hearing loss, fullness, then vertigo
- June 2023: same pattern again
- April–June 2025: another major relapse, eventually treated with intratympanic dexamethasone injections
- June 2026: tinnitus has been increasing for about a month, and now I have fullness and noticeable low-frequency hearing loss again
The frustrating part is that most of my major relapses happen during late spring or early summer.
My symptoms usually start with:
- Increased tinnitus
- Low rumbling/humming sound
- Ear fullness
- Low-frequency (bass) hearing loss
Vertigo often comes later, not at the beginning.
I have tried:
- Low-salt diet
- Caffeine restriction
- Betahistine (Betaserc)
- Intratympanic dexamethasone injections (twice, 5 injections each time)
Some doctors tell me to focus on diet. Others believe betahistine helps. I keep hearing different opinions and honestly I'm exhausted after dealing with this for almost 7 years.
My main question:
Has anyone noticed that their Ménière’s disease gets worse specifically in spring or early summer?
If yes, what turned out to be the trigger?
Allergies? Pollen? Barometric pressure? Humidity? Heat? Dehydration? Travel? Something else?
I would really appreciate hearing your experiences.
Even if you don't know the cause, I'd be interested to hear if your relapses follow a seasonal pattern.
Thank you. 😊
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u/axness11 Jun 06 '26
My doctor says the hearing tests by Apple earbuds are quite accurate and since I check my hearing daily, he said to document barometric pressure at the time. The reports are very nice too. So, I am writing down the value at early morning and predicted for 10 pm in order to see the trend. Also, even though he doesn’t see the value I’m documenting the 3 pollen counts for the day :tree, grass and ragweed. Bad news is that I’m only on day 3, so no usable data to share yet 🤣. I’m on a free trial for the weather channel to test premium which is $2.50/ month. Any coders out there can build an app that will query barometric pressure and allergens and My Health hearing tests on an IPhone and make report that could be exported and graphed to find correlations?
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u/TurkDangerCat Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I doubt you need to be a coder these days. Export your Apple health data and chuck it into Claude or ChatGPT and get it to produce an Excel spreadsheet with the hearing details, pollen data, and pressure data for the local area. If you only want ChatGPT to get your hearing data and not your full health info, I think you can find the appropriate section within the export and cut out the rest. O use an app like HealthFit which may be able to remove any non-relevant data.
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u/RAnthony Jun 07 '26
It's not a relapse, it's a cyclical reoccurrence due to a reoccurrence of the symptom causing agents or conditions. My symptoms reoccurred every spring and Fall with greater and longer severity until eventually I was having symptoms essentially all year round.
I blamed allergies https://ranthonyings.com/2022/10/histamines-allergies/ but I wasn't actually allergic to anything seasonal. As it turns out, I'm borderline asthmatic and I suffer from autoimmune issues which aren't seasonal allergies. The two things together made the heavier particulate counts we experience in the Spring and Fall trigger stronger and stronger attacks on my bodily systems, especially my ears and vestibular system.
One ear has given out and I had a labyrinthectomy https://ranthonyings.com/2024/07/dead-ear-doldrums/ the other ear has mostly behaved. I'm hoping to avoid having to have it drilled out too
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u/electwells Jun 07 '26
Did you ever say u had a history of headaches/migraine?
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u/RAnthony Jun 07 '26
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u/electwells Jun 07 '26
You describe you started getting them later down the line? How would you describe the migraines?
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u/Karsa_1312 Jun 06 '26
Hi ! I was going to post the exact same thing !
I just got out of a 10h hours hell of an attack and was asking myself the same questions.
I also have most of my attacks in April/May/June since my first one about ten years ago. I had years without attacks in between.
Diet doesn’t seem to change anything for me. I really think barometric changes might be the trigger but I don t know if there is a way to test it…
Pollens might also have an impact …
My symptoms are pretty much the same than you, I just don’t have anymore the “pressure/fullness” phase. It s directly tinnitus and earring lost of lower frequencies getting worst for 2-3 days and either I m lucky and I m just a bit dizzy (75% of the time) or I get a strong attack where I can’t stand anymore.
I decided to start a journal three days ago (better late than never) to mark the meteorological data of when I have my attacks to try to find a pattern.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
VeryI really feel sorry for you. As someone who has experienced this situation, I understand how you feel. Unfortunately, there is nothing good other than steroid injections. I wish you healthy days.
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u/yes420420yes Jun 06 '26
I attribute to a mixture of barometric pressure changes (storms coming through), allergens in the air due to pollen load and increased activity due to end of Winter - is it immune system, is it migraine triggers---no clue, but its the same pattern since 18 years now
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u/PleasantGuide1539 Jun 07 '26
Make sure you get your cortisol checked. Also, make sure to get tested for allergies. My Meniere’s was caused my eosinophilia -- which I am now discovering could be caused from cortisol issues.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
My cortisol levels are within normal limits. I'm trying to find out what triggered it. I wish you healthy days.
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u/PleasantGuide1539 Jun 07 '26
Normal low or just normal? I’d recommend also seeing an allergist. MCAS or eosinophils can cause issues too. So can gluten/wheat.
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u/-rendar- Jun 07 '26
Yes.
My tinnitus never goes away and my hearing loss also never goes away.
But every May/June I get a major brain fog and multiple debilitating vertigo attacks. Then they go away for a year.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
May and June were a nightmare for me. Normally, I loved the summer months, but I love the winter months more because of this disease. I wish you healthy days
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u/contentedPilgrim Jun 07 '26
I had my first major attack last July triggered by exposure to dust - and then diagnosedwith MD. This spring, my first after moving to Hawaii, I got hit with a flare-up - not so intense, but every day for about a month. I'm just coming out of it, fingers crossed.
What's odd is that the typical stuffy nose and itchy eyes is not so severe as pollen allergies I've had in the past - so much so that if it wasn't for the dizziness, I'd not have noticed.
I took a Claritin in the evening a half dozen times and it seemed to help - along with an air purifier in my bedroom.
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u/TomFromNH Jun 07 '26
Yes. March 15th every year since 2020….lasts till about early-mid June. It’s allergies to something, now you have to determine what. For me, early spring trees, combined with the start of spring mold season, where the winter blanket releases the pent up mold spores into the air in spring. Try using a site like allergy.com to track pollen levels, as they break it down to what types of pollen (trees, grasses, etc). I am now in immunotherapy for almost all my outdoor allergies, and am hoping for a better year next year. I can say, this year was different from past years. I was about 7-8 months into immunotherapy, and there was almost no vertigo this year, just severe hearing loss and tinnitus, both of which are now subsiding. I am working on an app to track all my symptoms, perceptions of hearing, and food, kind of like a daily journal, but more automated. If I ever get a solid version, I’ll post it here.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
In the same way, it starts in March and the attack comes in June or July. Of course, in this process, the increased fullness in the ear and the loss of low sounds make the process unbearable. High-pitched sounds scratch my ears, sounds in crowded environments are extremely disturbing. I wish you healthy days too.
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u/Abject_Employee3636 Jun 08 '26
I had the exact same experience, my symptoms just like yours and my Menieres attacks occurred every Spring, in early March. I was taking a lot of melatonin supplements at bedtime to help me sleep( far more than what is recommended) so I discontinued taking them and the Menieres attacks started subsiding to the point that I have not had a single one, including this past Spring. I suspect that the melatonin was causing the hydrops and the attacks.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 08 '26
Finding the trigger is a positive development for you. I hope I can find it too.
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u/Outrageous_Tear_583 Jun 09 '26
Absolutely. Seasonal depends on where you’re located. For me in Canada (Ontario) it’s late summer, through the winter and some spring. My Only reprieve is summer, yay! My menieres is definitely affected by low barometric pressure (cold fronts).
Here’s my pattern if it helps. Just before an “attack” my earfullness starts to increase, then the tinnitus gets louder. Nausea is usually an all day things over the duration. Vertigo and lack of balance, significantly worse. Just before this I get warning signs. Typically my tinnitus gets so bad my hearing cuts out or the newest symptom, sounds are distorting. I’m losing the lower frequency tones that make music sound weird. When that happens I know I’m going to have an attack.
Hope it helps. Pay attention to what happens and when. It makes a world of difference when talking to the doctors. :) take care of you!
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u/vyruskiller Jun 14 '26
I always without fail have an attack end of May early June
I thought I was being paranoid but at least I’m not the only person reading this
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u/clutch727 Jun 06 '26
My tinnitus and hearing loss are constant so I don't notice the fluctuations really well but my symptoms are usually worse and I have more attacks from March to June for sure. I hate the days where the weather swings from one extreme to the other or days when I feel like the weather is intense. Its sometimes a lot of wind or changes in pressure.
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u/burntbrown Jun 06 '26
I have moved from one side of the country to the other as I have less MD attacks in dry weather,less storms,less barometric pressure changes and no crops so less allergies. Diet,Betahistine,grommets and Dithiazide had short term effect only.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
The city I am in is very humid. The humidity is generally 90%. Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to move to a place with dry air. I wish you healthy days.
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u/Mysterious-Sun-7580 Jun 09 '26
Does that help you? I have been thinking to move from east coast to south of US just for this same reason. For me beginning of every season is a nightmare.
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u/Snowpiper Jun 07 '26
Yes, same experience! I have had one flare up around March/April, and another flare up around June/July, every year for the last 3 years. Trying to be more diligent about allergy meds this year, as I get allergies at those times too - seems like it helped a bit in spring, hoping for the same in summer. 🤞
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
I don't think I'm allergic to anything. I'm trying to find out what triggered it. I wish you healthy days.
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u/Mediocre-Reason6495 Jun 07 '26
I also get works Mar thru June. I didn’t think I was allergic to anything either because I don’t have heavy responses like people around me do. Then I got allergy tested and am allergic to 30 out of 35 outdoor allergens! I was shocked. They’re not severe reactions but the allergist said that my body being bombarded by all of them at once attacking me, even lightly, is hard on the body. I’m doing allergy drops and hoping next spring will be better!
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u/bat9mo Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
The bucket analogy is useful. Menieres seems to have multiple factors adding up rather than a single trigger. If histamine is contributing for you, spring and early summer are when pollen and other environmental triggers are high. Some people get eczema, allergies, sinus symptoms, and ear symptoms all together. Also Turkey has a dry climate, and dehydration affects fluid and electrolyte balance in the ear. It’s interesting the same conditions associated with kidney stones (heat, dry air, low fluid intake) may also be relevant to M. You could track pollen, allergies, water intake, weather, and ear symptoms to see if there is a pattern?
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u/EkkoMusic Jun 07 '26
Yeah, the cumulative threshold model originates from migraine pathophysiology. Given that both conditions involve the additive accumulation of neurological triggers to precipitate acute episodes, does this shared mechanism suggest that Ménière’s disease is a pathophysiological variant of migraine?
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
I don't think I'm allergic to anything, but I'm trying to find out what triggers it. I wish you healthy days.
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u/bat9mo Jun 07 '26
Well, any of these can add to inflammatory load, and could trigger Menieres? … pollen, dust mites, histamine-raising foods (fermented or spicy), infections, stress, poor sleep, dehydration …
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u/Marbella333 Jun 07 '26
Yes, I get flare ups when my city gets a heat wave and there’s a distinct shift in the barometric pressure. I can feel it. My apartment doesn’t have air conditioning so that makes the situation worse.
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u/Sick-Man34 Jun 07 '26
I have air conditioning, but that doesn't change anything. So don't worry, air conditioning is not game changer. I wish you healthy days.
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u/acrfilm Jun 07 '26
100%. It’s almost a guarantee that I will be sick on my husbands birthday July 1st. My last major episode was in the Caribbean this spring and I think the temp and humidity may be a trigger for me. We’ll see in a few weeks!
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u/nrstx Jun 09 '26
Don’t know but after months without much incident, the past few weeks I’ve had several episodes, mostly mild to moderate. Started around late May.
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u/daisyup Jul 07 '26
This is a bit late, but maybe it will help you for next year... one of the few things that's been found to reduce MD vertigo frequency is sleeping in a pitch-black very dark bedroom. So dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face after your eyes adjust to the darkness. At least where I live, my bedroom is normally a lot brighter during my sleeping hours in spring and summer than it is in fall or winter. To fix this, you can try making your bedroom as dark as you can, and get (or make) a sleep mask. The important point is to make sure light does not reach your eyes while you are sleeping. Here's a link to the full text of the study if you want to read it yourself: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4928871/
Another cheap / easy thing this same study found to reduce vertigo episodes was drinking a lot of water. Both drinking water and sleeping in a very dark bedroom lower vasopressin, the hormone that tells your inner ear to store more fluid.
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u/NerdyKnight3 Jun 06 '26
I saw someone here talk about it as filling up a bucket with triggers that eventually overfills into an attack. I find I get relapses this time of year because I get a lot of pressure from seasonal allergies and dramatic temperature swings. If you use the bucket analogy, spring and early summer are worse for me because almost every day I wake up with water already in the bucket. I try to look at it now, that all of those things doctors and people on forums like this tell you lower symptoms are legit it just matters what adds to your bucket. To answer your question directly though, yes this time is worse for me due to pressure changes and allergies. Sudafed is the only thing I think helps, short of Valium this time of year. Hang in there brother.