Hereditary

Several years ago the text books read that Meniere's was not hereditary and mentioned nothing of Menieres occurring within families.

In more recent times, the medical profession recognise that in some cases, Meniere's is familial i.e. in families. To speculate, perhaps there is a genetic factor, such as anatomy of the inner ear being inherited, or immune system responses, that makes one more predisposed to Meniere's. Research has shown high prevalence of symptoms of Meniere's disease in families with a mutation in the COCH gene. <more info>.

From a personal point of view there is definitely something to that in my family. My grandfather, father and 2 uncles all received independent Meniere's diagnosis. My aunt, brother and myself also have the classic symptoms but with variations which is why I believe none of us have been diagnosed with classic Menieres. It has been suggested to me that my Menieres is atypical but may very well develop to classic Menieres (my hearing loss is small at present).

I have read that 1 in 3 Meniere's patients has a direct relative with Meniere's. The British Meniere's Society suggest 3-8%. Pubmed say 14%. Other websites suggest 8%.

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