Does anyone on the Board have this? This is a disease of the inner ear which leads to hearing loss in one or both ears. Symptoms generally include hearing loss, tinnitus ('ringing' in the ear or ears) aural fullness (feels like there is a pressure difference in the ear; a friend described it as like a sock was stuffed in her ear), and ... vertigo. Unless the disease is bi-lateral and leads to the total loss of hearing in both ears (about 1/2 the time it affects both ears eventually), the one symptom which is the most distressing for sailors is vertigo. This is not to be confused with sea sickness - indeed it can come on when you are on land and stationary. Meneire's Disease affects both sexes about equally; it is most common in the 40- and 50- something age groups. It is incurable and progressive (i.e. it gets worse over time), but not fatal. There are medications that you can take, and combined with dietary changes (including a low salt diet), its rate of progression can be drastically decreased (note this doesn't mean that it is being cured or reversed) - or maybe not.

I was diagnosed recently with this. So far, I only had 1 vertigo attack. At the time the boat was at the dock with mechanical problems; the attack happened on land, though - at a funeral in front of over 100 people. That was over 6 months ago, but the diagnosis was made recently.

If any of you have this disease, how do you treat it and how has it affected your sailing?

If I experience vertigo again, it may mean some changes in my sailing. For instance, I might have to have crew (I have always sailed singlehanded). If it happens with great frequency, I might have to at least temporarily retire from sailing. For now, I'm basically going on as before. After all, the vertigo only happened once and, besides, what good would panicking or worrying about it all the time do?

Any experiences? Suggestions?

Jerry