Audiological Considerations in Ménière’s Disease

The audiological findings in Ménière's disease are reviewed particularly in respect of loudness recruitment and speech discrimination loss. Although recruitment is pathognomonic of all cochlear lesions, certain distinguishing features are apparent in Ménière's disease which differ from those in other non-metabolic disorders of the cochlea. With mild degrees of hearing loss, recruitment appears to aid speech discrimination supporting the suggestion that it represents the ears adjustment to failing hearing. With more profound degrees of hearing loss, there is a linear inverse relationship between maximum discrimination score and hearing level. Actual hearing aid gains preferred by patients correlate well with those predicted from a consideration of recruitment curves.