Medical treatment of Menière's disease: a review of literature.

A review of the literature on drug therapy for Menière's disease was made using the Medline on-line biomedical database to screen publications between January 1978 and April 1995. In total there were only 118 publications in this 17-year period which specifically dealt with medical therapy for Menière's disease. It appears that only betahistine and diuretics have a proven effect in double-blind studies on long-term control of vertigo in Menière's disease. No medical therapy, however, has a proven effect on hearing or long-term evolution of the disease. There are multiple reports, especially in the recent literature, regarding the intratympanal use of aminoglycosides for vertigo control. Based on this literature review and on empirical findings, a strategy for medical treatment of Menière's disease is proposed.