What Have You Been Told About Your Diet for Menière's Disease?
- Mar 16
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Here’s How I Manage Mine Living With Menière's
I’ve had Menière's Disease for over 20 years now, but I was only diagnosed 9 years ago. Over that time, I’ve had to learn what my triggers are and in particular, which foods affect me more than others.
I think that working out your diet for Menière's disease is very individual. What might affect one person may not be an issue for someone else at all.
That said, a low-salt diet is one of the most commonly recommended dietary strategies for managing Menière's Disease, and that’s certainly where most newly diagnosed people start.
What I was told when I was diagnosed
When I was diagnosed, I had already researched what I would need to follow diet wise. What I didn’t realise was that it was so much more than just a low salt diet. My consultant advised the following:
Low salt
Low sugar
No chocolate
No caffeine
No citrus fruits
No cheese
What I found really interesting at the time was that I’d always been very sensitive to salt anyway. I’ve never enjoyed salty food, if something tastes strongly of it, I simply can’t eat it. I’ve also never really enjoyed cheese, and although I was vegetarian, it was never a staple in my diet. So missing those things out wasn’t actually a great loss for me.
On the other hand, low sugar, no chocolate, and no caffeine were going to be much more difficult…
Chocolate, coffee, and timing
I was (and still am) a self-confessed chocoholic. I’m the kind of person who opens a box of chocolates and has to eat them all. I can’t have one and leave the rest for another day, I wish I could. I think I probably bordered on an addiction.
And at the point in my life when I was diagnosed, I really wasn’t in a good place physically or mentally. I’d just had a prolapsed disc rupture in my back, my husband hadn’t been very well, and my workplace was beyond toxic. So being told I couldn’t have the two things I used to treat myself with - chocolate and cappuccinos - wasn’t a great thought.
But I’d waited years for an official diagnosis, and I knew I had to take the advice seriously. Severe chronic back pain (which lasted a year) wasn’t mixing well with the unsteadiness I’d always had.
How I manage my diet for Menière's Disease now
Salt
So I did make changes. I reduced my salt intake to a maximum of around 2 grams per day. This wasn’t always possible, so I didn’t treat it as a daily battle. I thought of it more as a cumulative effect. But this took a lot of trial and error.
I’d try to stick to it as often as I could, but sometimes it just wasn’t possible. If that happened, I’d make adjustments the next day and eat more fresh food that I knew was safer for me.
For example, if I ate out and didn’t know how much salt I was having, the next day I might have a vegetable or a salad dish for lunch or dinner, and a smoothie for breakfast.
The thinking behind this is that salt restriction is thought to help by reducing fluid retention in the body, which may influence abnormal fluid buildup in the inner ear. This matters because Menière's Disease is associated with endolymphatic hydrops, an abnormal buildup of fluid in the inner ear. In fact, the first consultant that I saw had listed my condition as endolymphatic hydrops.
I could always tell if I’d had too much salt. My ears would need to be “popped” more often during the day. I still feel that now, after having Menière's for over 20 years now I’m very attuned to what impacts my symptoms on a daily basis.
Sugar
Reducing sugar is just not something I can do gradually. I have to go cold turkey and not have any at all. I don’t mean strictly no sugar, I still have fruit in smoothies, but no refined sugar.
Once I’ve cut it out, I’m absolutely fine without it. In fact, I feel so much better without it. So I get really annoyed with myself when I go back to eating too much sugar as I clearly don’t thrive on it.
So reducing sugar has become an important part of my Menière's disease diet, even though it’s not something that’s always emphasised.
Caffeine
I reduced my caffeine intake gradually, then started substituting one of my drinks for a decaffeinated one. It’s important to do it this way, otherwise you’ll end up with a headache from hell.
I actually made that mistake recently (yes, I’d fallen off the wagon) and had a headache for two solid days. Don’t do it.
Interestingly, despite how often caffeine restriction is recommended, systematic reviews have found no randomized controlled trials that definitively demonstrate the effectiveness of salt, caffeine, or alcohol restriction in treating Menière's Disease.
Even so, I know I feel better when I limit it. I’ve always been extremely sensitive to caffeine so it came as no surprise that it was something that I needed to avoid when changing my diet for Menière's disease management.
Citrus fruits and cheese
I very rarely have citrus fruits and have never really noticed any negative effects from them. But maybe if I had them daily, that would be different.
I’ve never been a big fan of cheese so eliminating it from diet was easy for me. Some cheeses are high in salt so the combination of the two could well be a big trigger for some people.
And that’s something I’ve noticed a lot when talking to other people with Menière's, our triggers can be completely different.
My main triggers
From my own experience, and from talking to other sufferers, it’s clear that diet is only part of the picture.
I try to be fairly strict with managing my diet for Menière's disease, but I know my two main triggers are:
Sometimes I describe myself as a human barometer. If I need to pop my ears more often, I know the pressure is changing, either dropping or rising. So, it’s interesting to me that triggers are usually focussed on diet alone yet mine are not. But I do think that it’s a combination of everything combined that helps to keep my symptoms low.
So should you change your diet?
Ultimately, I do think it’s important to be mindful of your diet when you have Menière's Disease. Medication can help, but it’s also worth looking at what you can do yourself. I was never offered medication so had to pursue the diet and lifestyle route.
I know a lot of people are given diuretics straight away, often prescribed because of the abnormal buildup of fluid in the ear. But a diet high in salt encourages fluid retention in the body, so reducing salt is one practical thing you can try. And in the long run, it may even mean medication isn’t needed as often.
For me, diet isn't a cure - it's a tool. But it's one of the most important tools I have. Combined with managing stress, tracking barometric pressure, and getting good rest, it genuinely moves the dial. Not always. Not every day. But enough.
Health Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and based on personal experience. It does not replace medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, medications, treatment plan or start any kind of exercise regime.
Hi, I'm Sally - a Nutritional Therapist and chronic illness blogger who has been living with Menière's disease, TMJ Disorder and Degenerative Disc Disease for over twenty years. I write about the real experience of managing these conditions day to day, blending personal insight with nutritional and lifestyle knowledge. I hope something here helps you feel a little less alone.
.
