Short-term result of mannitol administration on hearing loss improvement in Menière's disease and in sensorineural low-frequency fluctuating hearing loss without vertigo

In 1995 Menière's disease has been classified by an international guideline, on the basis of auditory and vestibular symptoms, in four different forms: certain, definite, probable and possible. According to this guideline fluctuating low frequency hearing loss was considered as possible Menière's disease. Since the administration of osmotic diuretic, such as mannitol, has been proposed in diagnosis and therapy it is the aim of this paper to evaluate if there are some differences is the hearing threshold modification after mannitol administration in two groups of patients affected by possible and definite Menière's disease. The study was carried out on 137 patients affected by definite (39%) and possible (61%) Menière's disease, according to 1995 guidelines, and submitted to 18% (intravenous) IV mannitol therapy. After therapy we have found in both groups a significant improvement of hearing threshold in about 30% of cases. Improvement was not related with sex, age and age of appearance of symptomatology while it was related with the duration of the disease that was significantly shorter in subjects who showed a significant hearing improvement. In conclusion IV mannitol administration is a reliable therapy in improving acute hearing loss in possible and definite Menière's disease.