Dizziness Relief Through Ear Therapy

Clancy was never diagnosed with Meniere’s syndrome, a condition which usually combines severe dizzy attacks with tinnitus (ringing in the ears). But Joudry believes his condition would have a similar cause.

“Meniere's vertigo is due to a sudden change in the tension of the stirrup muscle, one of the middle ear muscles responsible for fluid pressure in the vestibular (balance) system.” Explains Joudry “This muscle may be subject to involuntary twitches, like any other muscle of the body,” says Joudry, explaining that such twitching would radically alter the fluid pressure in the inner ear chambers, thus causing havoc with the balance mechanism. “The role of the vestibular apparatus,” says Joudry, “is to communicate to the brain, via the vestibular branch of the auditory nerve, that there is sudden movement of the head, which gives the patient the feeling that the world is spinning or falling away beneath them.”

The renowned ear specialist, Dr. Tomatis designed a treatment program which creates a general rehabilitation for the ear by activating the middle ear muscles. It has many different benefits, one being the significant relief it can offer Meniere's sufferers. Joudry explains that once the stirrup muscle has been rehabilitated with the regular exercise provided by the Sound Therapy program, it no longer goes into spasm and the Meniere's attacks recede. A wide variety of Sound Therapy users have confirmed this experience, as evidenced by Joudry’s collection of interview results and letters from happy customers.(2 )Clancy said that after a few months of Sound Therapy, his sense of balance virtually returned to normal.

There are several diagnoses which may be given for balance problems, including Meniere’s syndrome, vestibular inflammation (labyrinthitis) or BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.) Joudry says that Sound Therapy has proved helpful in most cases because getting the muscles to relax helps to reduce excess pressure, fluid imbalances and inflammation of the inner ear mechanisms.

“We cannot separate ear function from the auditory pathways in the brain,” she adds, explaining that the way the brain processes sensory information from the eyes, joints and ears also creates our sense of balance.

An example of a chronic vestibular integration disorder was Jeanette McKay, who lived constantly with a sense that the earth was moving beneath her feet. She had a lot of car sickness and other balance problems, and found this made everything in the way of learning much more difficult.

“I always felt the ground was moving, as if I was walking on a waterbed or something unstable.” However, after using Sound Therapy, McKay said, “I felt as though the earth was stable for the first time in my life. It was the most amazing feeling.”

“It is always better,” Joudry explains, “to solve these problem by addressing the cause within the body rather than by trying to control it with medication.”

Joudry believes that the method should be used more widely for the older population where a slight improvement to balance can make the difference between falling or not falling. “This could potentially save a lot of injury and loss of independence for those living alone,” she adds.