What is Mnire's disease?
Mnire's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss, usually in one ear. It is caused by an increase in volume and pressure of the endolymph of the inner ear. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are extremely successful in the treatment of symptoms associated with Meniere's disease.

Attributing Factors:
While no actual cause is known for Mnire's disease, several factors have been linked to it:
Tension and anxiety can lead to attack
A high salt intake (probably due to increased fluid retention)
Some women have premenstrual attacks which are associated with fluid retention
There is a direct link with migraine in 30% of recorded cases
Head injury severe enough to cause a concussion
Syphilis
Glandular or hormonal imbalance (including hypothyroidism)
High cholesterol levels
Allergies

Common factors such as chocolate, smoking, alcohol, dairy products and wheat
High doses of aspirin (from 14 to 16 tablets per day) can cause ringing in the ears. This type of tinnitus is reversible, simply by withdrawing the intake of aspirin
Mnire's Disease from an Oriental medicine perspective

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine usually attribute vertigo to phlegm and dampness obstruction.  This causes the vertigo along with symptoms of nausea and vomiting.

It is also often diagnosed as kidney yin deficiency causing liver wind to ascend and cause vertigo, dizziness, headache, blurred vision and tinnitus.

Points used for vertigo and Mnire's disease

Acupuncture points are chosen depending on the diagnosis. Many points will be on the scalp and around the ears but they will also be on the body.

For liver wind:
Gallbladder 20 (GB 20) and Liver 3 (Lv 3)

Local points around the ear to restore circulation of Qi:
San Jiao 17 (SJ 17) and Small Intestine 19 (SI 19)

For nausea, vomiting, phlegm and dampness:
Neiguan (PC6), Zusanli (ST 36) and Ren 12 (Co 12)

For kidney yin deficiency:
Kidney 3 (Ki 3)