Living with Ménière’s disease: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the meanings of M eni ere's disease from the perspective of people living with this condition and to understand what was considered significant and important in participants' everyday lives. Materials and methods: Four women with M eni ere's disease participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Accounts were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using an iterative process integral to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Three interconnected themes were identified. "You have no control whatsoever" conveys participants' perceptions of vertigo as having a disruptive and ongoing impact on physical and psychosocial function in everyday life. "M eni ere's takes away your life completely" describes M eni ere's as impinging on participants' most meaningful activities and relationships, and as restricting their ability to live their lives on their own terms. "You get on with life" recounts participants' efforts to refashion their lives whilst living with this condition and manage its most harmful effects. The psychosocial impact of living with M eni ere's disease and its relevance to rehabilitation is discussed. Conclusions: M eni ere's disease has an enduring physical and psychosocial impact. Clinicians who acknowledge and respond to an individual's subjective experience of their condition may be key to their engagement in therapy. Service users should have a voice in health service design and delivery. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION M eni ere's disease is a long-term disabling condition that not only impacts on physical and psychosocial functioning but also restricts quality of life through stigmatisation. Fear of triggering an attack of vertigo may prevent people with M eni ere's disease from engaging with rehabilitation. Therapists who adopt a biopsychosocial approach and who recognise patients' efforts to control their symptoms as a positive form of resistance may be better equipped to empathetically support patients to engage in new activities that may be vital to improving their lives.

Lyrical Trends: An Analysis of Music’s (Mis) Use of Vertigo

“…Vertiginous disorders are commonly misdiagnosed (23)(24)(25). This may be attributed to a poor diagnostic paradigm (24,25) for dizziness and vertigo, limited understanding, inconsistent terminology, and even stigma toward vertiginous disorders (26). These misconceptions can have deleterious consequences; for example, patients with Ménière's disease are often fearful of triggering an attack of vertigo, develop maladaptive behaviors, and avoid engaging with rehabilitation (26).…”

Prevalence of Ménière's Disease in Syrian Patients with hypothyroidism: Cross-sectional study

“…MD is a long-term disabling disease that not only impacts one's psychological wellbeing and physical functioning but also restricts the quality of life through stigmatization [ 30 ]. In our study, MD diagnosis was found to affect patients' lifestyles more compared with those who had no diagnosis.…”

Quality of Life of Patients with Meniere’s Disease in Alexandria - Egypt

“…Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (1) as "the idiopathic syndrome of endolymphatic hydrops. Meniere's disease has been reported as having a significant negative impact on emotional and psychological well-being and quality of life and they can severely disrupt activities of daily living (2) .…”

“…Answers of the studied patients were recorded, scored, and then summed together. The total score was converted into percent score as illustrated in table (2):…”