Psychotherapy in intractable Meniere's disease

Abstract

In collaboration with otologists and psychotherapists, psychotherapy was performed together with the administration of drugs for patients with Meniere's disease in whom medical treatment, surgical treatment, or intratympanic streptomycin therapy had been ineffective and for a patient with intractable tinnitus. We report in detail 7 patients for whom psychotherapy was effective for vertigo, stabilization of hearing fluctuation, or the acceptance of tinnitus. It is important to consider psychosomatic aspects in the treatment of patients with Meniere's disease, and it was possible to avoid unnecessary surgery in some Meniere's disease patients using a combination of psychotherapy with medication.