Huey
Lewis, of Huey Lewis & The News fame, has been a musical influence
for over forty years. The popular R&B and blues singer recently
cancelled all future concert dates when he suffered the first attack of
Meniere's Syndrome.
Mr. Lewis was quoted as saying, "Although I
can still hear a little, one on one, and on the phone, I can't hear
music well enough to sing. The lower frequencies distort violently
making it impossible to find pitch. I've been to the House Ear
Institute, the Stanford Ear Institute, and the Mayo Clinic, hoping to
find an answer. The doctors believe I have Meniere's disease and have
agreed that I can't perform until I improve."
The condition
is named after the doctor who first identified the symptoms in 1851.
Anyone of any age can get Meniere's. It commonly attacks 60-year-old
men.
The symptoms include irregular, cyclic episodes where Mr.
Lewis will experience varying levels of hearing loss of 20% to 80% in
the affected ear during each occurrence. It is very rare for victims to
experience the problem in both ears.
During the episodes victims
of Meiner's also experience sensitivity to certain sounds, especially
metallic sounds. A spoon dropped on the floor sounded like part of a
ventilation system crashing down, claimed one sufferer of the syndrome.
Another
symptom Huey reported is tinnitus, that is, ringing in the ears.
Patients often describe it more like a hissing sound or a compressed air
leak. Huey Lewis described it as a loud whooshing sound. Meniere's
sufferers also experience dizziness. During episodes, the room seems to
be spinning and the patient has difficulty maintaining their balance.
They typically gravitate towards a dark, quiet place to lay down.
Extreme nausea marks the end of the episode.
Afterward,
the sufferer goes into a deep sleep for around four hours. The patient
then returns to normal until the next episode in a few days, weeks or
months. The episodes are totally unpredictable. They often recur
randomly for up to two years.
The root problem is diagnosed by an
otologist and mitigating solutions are offered. Oto is the Greek word
for rocks. You have heard the expression, "You must have rocks in your
head." Otologists are surgeons who work on those rocks. Specifically,
the calcium carbonite rocks in the middle ear.
Looking closely to a
diagram of the inner you will find the Vestibular nerve connected to
the lower portion of Semicircular Canals and the brain. That is the
mechanism that controls balance in humans. Microscopic sacs called
utricle and saccule contain hair cell filaments embedded in a membrane
with calcium carbonate rocks, rather granules, suspended in electrolyte.
As your head moves, the rocks move over the hair which send an impulse
to the brain through the vestibular nerve. The signal is coordinated
with the sense of vision and touch.
Medical researchers believe
that pressure caused by a blockage of the electrolyte flow, or an
imbalance in the electrolyte, disturbs the motion of the rocks moving
over the hairs sending a distorted signal to the brain. The microscopic
sacs, the utricle and saccule, can only be observed post mortem so no
one can say for certain if that is the problem
Occasionally,
Meniere's goes away by itself. Some patients respond to physical
therapy. Others respond to a diet that is low in sodium, alcohol and
caffeine. For the majority, the random episodes last a couple of years,
after which the patient experiences permanent hearing loss of 50% or
more in the affected ear. Dizziness and unbalance continue to plague the
victim.
We have other senses to help us keep our balance. After
an informal speech recently, a member of the audience questioned why I
had kept my hand on a chair while speaking. It was an unconscious act
but a reminder that our balance depends on our senses of vision,
hearing, and touch.
It may take Lewis a year or two before he can
feel comfortable enough with himself to brings his fantastic macho
rhythm and blues back to the circuit. If he wants to get back to those
fantastic harmonica solos that are his claim to fame I offer one piece
of advice which worked for me. That is, keep the sodium intake under two
thousand milligrams per day for about six months. I did it. My balance
was normal, no dizziness and the hissing sound was minimal. I think my
hearing improved greatly. But hey, I like most processed foods, bacon,
sausage, pasta, bread and a lot of high sodium foods so right now the
hissing and balance problems are back.
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