Meniere's disease study: three-year progress report.

The results of a three-year study of 120 patients with Meniere's disease has revealed multiple but specific etiology for 48 percent of the patients: (1) Allergy-14 percent (2) Congenital or acquired syphilis-7 percent (3) Adrenal pituitary insufficiency-6 percent (4) Hypothyroidism-3 percent (5) Stenosis of the internal auditory canal-3 percent (6) Trauma, acoustic or physical-3 percent (7) Combination of the above-12 percent. Emotional or psychiatric factors are not involved in the etiology of this disease. The vestibular and cochlear aqueduct on both temporal bones of patients with Meniere's disease could not be visualized in a significantly greater number than a normal control group suggesting an anatomic predisposition to the development of Meniere's disease. Preliminary immunologic viral investigation suggests the possibility of viral etiology in the remaining group considered idiopathic. It is hoped that this study will encourage other investigators to criticize and help intensify our efforts to solve the questions remaining about Meniere's disease.