Inner Ear Problem and Application to Med School

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

Hi, I have an inner ear condition that one doctor diagnosed as Meniere's. Very occasionally I'll get a pang of really bad dizziness that will throw off my equilibrium for a couple of seconds. Luckily I don't have the extended periods of vertigo that a lot of people with Meniere's have. It very rarely happens when I am standing (every couple of months). Lately I've been worrying about this being an issue during rotations where losing fine motor control unexpectedly could be really serious. Am I overblowing it? Should it be disclosed to medical school?

You would only be required to disclose if your medical issue would interfere with the essential function list of the medical school. Something that happens this rarely I would think would not be reportable, and you certainly won't need any accomodations for it. That said, this is not my area of expertise, and we'll see what others comment.

Originally Posted by aProgDirector

You would only be required to disclose if your medical issue would interfere with the essential function list of the medical school. Something that happens this rarely I would think would not be reportable, and you certainly won't need any accomodations for it. That said, this is not my area of expertise, and we'll see what others comment.

I'm just a medical student, and only a 2nd year at that but it seems to me that Ménière's disease has a modest selection of treatment modalities at this point. From something as conservative as diuretics to vestibular nerve section.

I would think that given that The disease can be (and often is) successfully treated, this really isn't the type of thing that schools should be concerned about!

Originally Posted by SLC

I'm just a medical student, and only a 2nd year at that but it seems to me that Ménière's disease has a modest selection of treatment modalities at this point. From something as conservative as diuretics to vestibular nerve section.

I would think that given that The disease can be (and often is) successfully treated, this really isn't the type of thing that schools should be concerned about!

Yea, I don't think it would be appropriate to give someone with episodes of vertigo like every 3 months a daily diuretic or any treatment for that matter.

I don't know about reporting requirements or the severity of these episodes but depending on the author's preferred choice of specialty, this may be a non issue for the majority of his or her career. I'm interested, to the original poster, do you take any special precautions due to your condition when driving or doing anything similar? If you don't, I doubt there are any aspects of medical school that you would have to sit out.

"Very occasionally I'll get a pang of really bad dizziness that will throw off my equilibrium for a couple of seconds."

I would question the diagnosis of Meniere's. Have you seen an actual otolaryngologist? Obtained ECoG to confirm the diagnosis? Any changes in your audiogram? A few seconds of vertigo would be very atypical of Meniere's.

We see it all the time from GPs - anyone with a dizzy complaint has Meniere's - and only a small percentage actually do.

(Ed note: In general, SDN is not a source for medical opinions, but I think this is worth noting. However, let's not turn this into a discussion of what the OP's diagnosis actually is)