My Meniere’s Diagnosis

One of the symptoms of Meniere’s disease is a sense of pressure or fullness in the ear (or ears) that are affected. This feeling can come and go and vary with the other symptoms. For me this was a precursor to some of the other symptoms such as tinnitus, attacks of vertigo and hearing loss. The pressure in the ears is very similar to that experienced when traveling in mountainous terrain, or during take offs and landings on an airplanes.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction can create a similar feeling of pressure in the ear or ears. The Eustachian Tubes normally work to keep the air pressure behind the ear the same as that of the outside world. If the Eustachian Tube is obstructed for some reason then the air pressure in the inner ear can be different than that outside. When this is the case, it feels as though the ear is “pressurized” or that there is pressure on the eardrum.

I know at times this pressre can feel intense enough that it causes watery eyes. At times the ear feels as though there is so much pressure that you can almost feel certain sounds as opposed to simply hearing them. (Imagine putting a water balloon up to your ear. You can feel the vibrations of sound through your skin more than actually hearing the sound.)