A patient writes:
I have had several Meniere’s attacks in my life, the most recent being over 10 years ago. As a result, I had slight hearing loss in my right ear. In January 2006, I had major surgery, after which I was given an ototoxic “loop” diuretic. The next day after being given the loop diuretic, I found that I had lost all hearing in my left ear. After several weeks, much of my hearing in the left ear has returned, but hearing remains distorted and I sometimes have a sensation of fullness.  After testing, my doctor found no evidence of Meniere’s disease in the left ear, but confirmed evidence of Meniere’s Disease in the right ear in the past. He couldn’t say whether the ototoxic loop diuretic or Meniere’s Disease caused the sudden hearing loss in my left ear. Can Meniere’s Disease cause sudden hearing loss? My doctor recommended a low salt diet and avoidance of eating cheese.  I see no reference to cheese on any of the Meniere’s websites. Is it known as a frequent trigger? Should I go to a Meniere’s Disease specialist to better determine if the damage to left ear is from the ototoxic loop diuretic or from Meniere’s? Could this determination make a difference in the prognosis which at this time is to wait to see if it goes away?
Meniere’s Disease can cause sudden hearing loss (SHL) but it doesn’t happen often. You can research this on Google here.
The logical reason why cheese might not be mentioned on any of the Meniere’s Disease websites is that it is not ”known as a frequent trigger.” In fact, it isn’t. However, cheese contains sodium, which is at odds with your low salt diet (which is really a low sodium diet). Sodium is known to be a trigger in some, but not all, patients (click here). You are really asking, “Why did my doctor tell me to avoid cheese?” But why ask us? If you have a question about what you were told by your doctor, our advice is to ask your doctor. It is simply not possible for us to know why your doctor or anyone else said anything about anything. Our answer to “Why did he tell me that?” is always “We don’t know.”
Our answer to the question “Should I see another doctor?” is always YES.
“Prognosis” is the course of a disease. Your “prognosis” is not “wait to see if it goes away.” That is your “treatment.” If you are asking whether one doctor might have a different opinion from an other doctor, both for diagnosis and for treatment options, the answer is YES.
What you are really saying through all of this is that you lack confidence in your doctor, to which we always say, “see another doctor.”