What is Autoimmune Vertigo? In autoimmune vertigo, the immune system malfunctions and attacks just the ear, the ear and some other body part like the eye, or the entire body. Damage to the inner ear structures can result in vertigo and/or hearing impairment.
Menière's disease (MD) is a clinical disorder defined as the idiopathic syndrome of endolymphatic hydrops and characterized by a triad of fluctuating vertigo, tinnitus, and sensorineural hearing loss (with aural fullness).
The symptoms of AIED are sudden hearing loss in one ear progressing rapidly to the second ear. The hearing loss can progress over weeks or months. Patients may feel fullness in the ear and experience vertigo. In addition, a ringing, hissing, or roaring sound in the ear may be experienced.
Common ones include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Autoimmune diseases can affect many types of tissues and nearly any organ in your body. They may cause a variety of symptoms including pain, tiredness (fatigue), rashes, nausea, headaches, dizziness and more.
Conclusions: A diagnostic test panel for autoimmune inner ear disease should include an ESR and the Western blot for hsp70. More specific laboratory testing for systemic disease is warranted when the ESR is elevated.
Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) is a reversible form of sensorineural hearing loss when immunosuppressive treatment is given. AIED is described as progressive, bilateral although asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss that responds to treatment with corticosteroids.
AIED is a rare disease occuring in less than 1% of the 28 million Americans with a hearing loss. It can happen in isolation (as just labyrinthine disease) or as part of other systemic autoimmune disorders. Twenty percent of patients have other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
The vestibular system appears to be involved in SLE, although to a lesser extent; vertigo and dizziness have rarely been reported in patients with lupus. A few authors22,23 have described vertigo in patients with SLE and, in all cases, this symptom was always associated with SNHL or tinnitus.
Meniere's disease is an inner ear problem that can cause dizzy spells, also called vertigo, and hearing loss. Most of the time, Meniere's disease affects only one ear. Meniere's disease can happen at any age. But it usually starts between the ages of 40 to 60.
ENT symptoms may represent an early sign of an undiagnosed autoimmune disorder that often requires an immediate and aggressive immunosuppressive treatment [1].
With lupus, hearing loss often begins in one ear, affecting high-pitched sounds, before spreading to the other ear and affecting lower pitches, known as reverse-slope hearing loss. It can also cause tinnitus (ringing in the ears), dizziness or aural fullness. Auditory processing disorder (APD) also may be an issue.
Asherson's syndrome is an extremely rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the development, over a period of hours, days or weeks, of rapidly progressive blood clots affecting multiple organ systems of the body.
Overview. Dizziness is a common symptom of MS. People with MS may feel off balance or lightheaded. Much less often, they have the sensation that they or their surroundings are spinning — a condition known as vertigo.
When these signals are disrupted, vertigo results. This is often caused by inflammation related to a viral infection and is commonly associated with two conditions: labyrinthitis (inflammation of the inner ear's labyrinth and vestibular nerve), and vestibular neuronitis (inflammation of the vestibular nerve).
The vestibulocochlear nerve sends balance and head position information from the inner ear (see left box) to the brain. When the nerve becomes swollen (right box), the brain can't interpret the information correctly. This results in a person experiencing such symptoms as dizziness and vertigo.
Autoimmune disease occurs most often in young women. Incidences of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis peak at approxi- mately age 20, with a 3:1 (female-to-male) preference [1,2]. Incidences of type 1 autoimmune diabetes [3] and autoimmune skin diseases, such as vitiligo, peak at young age [4].
When the body senses danger from a virus or infection, the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it. This is called an immune response. Sometimes, healthy cells and tissues are caught up in this response, resulting in autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune diseases do tend to run in families, which means that certain genes may make some people more likely to develop a problem. Viruses, certain chemicals, and other things in the environment may trigger an autoimmune disease if you already have the genes for it.
Anyone can get Ménière disease. It's more common in people in their 40s and 50s. There is no cure.
Approximately one-third of Meniere's disease cases seem to be of an autoimmune origin although the immunological mechanisms involved are not clear. The diagnosis of autoimmune inner ear disease is based either on clinical criteria or on a positive response to steroids.
Vestibular symptoms, tinnitus, and aural fullness can be found in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases; they often mimic primary inner ear disorders such as Menière's disease and mainly affect both ears simultaneously.