Data Science for Vestibular Condition
Published: 2022-10-26 19:36:20

## Intro
Data driven devices and applications are playing an increasing role in the treatment and management of chronic diseases. While many of these devices are focused on the most common chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, there has been very little investigation into the use of digital devices to help manage Meniere’s disease, a vestibular condition that can lead to several debilitating symptoms including hearing loss and vertigo. There are no cures for Meniere’s, however, as with many chronic conditions, consistent healthy lifestyle can be effective to keep symptoms at a manageable level. Although the relatively small number of patients with Meniere’s harms the business case for such a product, many of the features for this type of system could be applied to other chronic illnesses. As a long time Meniere’s patient, I wanted to put together the below to outline some initial thoughts on what a potential device could entail to spark interest amongst those living with chronic conditions in the tech world.

Meniere’s disease is a rare vestibular condition caused by fluid build up in the inner ear that can lead to fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo, tinnitus, ear pressure, and brain fog. There is no cure for Meniere’s and therefore the majority of the interventions are focused on managing symptoms through lifestyle change—specifically through the identification and avoidance of triggers. Typical behaviors to keep symptoms under control include the avoidance of high sodium foods, alcohol, and caffeine, effective stress management, physical activity, and consistent, deep sleep amongst others. While the core symptoms and triggers are present in most cases, people often display other symptoms and identify other triggers and management techniques—the type of information which is often only available through Meniere’s support groups. Meniere’s episodes can come on suddenly with almost immediate reaction to triggers in some instances, making the adherence to healthy behaviors on a moment by moment basis critical. The ability for data driven applications and wearables to track health data and provide instant, accurate feedback to the users regarding current health standing and potential vertigo episodes could be invaluable to those suffering from Meniere’s.  The below provides some initial thoughts on what such a system might include and the potential benefits on the 
Meniere’s community. 

##Trigger Identification
The identification of symptom triggers is critical for Meniere’s patients (especially when it comes to the sudden onset of vertigo). Wearables provide significant benefit to the user in this application as much of the data may be continuously recorded without user input. Stress and sleep could be tracked against user reported symptoms to identify required targets/threasholds for user. The location tracking function of wearables can also be used to notify users when they may be in a location that has been correlated with attacks in the past so the user can take appropriate preventive action (for example, many patients with Meniere’s may exhibit increased symptoms when at the grocery store or when flying). Fall detection would also be helpful as it could notify a user if their movements indicate patterns indicative of a future fall. 

Diet tracking would also be an essential function to identify which foods may trigger onset of Meniere’s symptoms. While this feature would still require consistent user input, it would be a vast improvement over hand written food journaling which many Meniere’s patients rely upon. 
Symptom Management

While there are very few clinically relevant treatments for Meniere’s symptoms, there are a plethora of different interventions patients use to effectively manage their Meniere’s on a day-to-day basis ranging from different forms of exercise to supplements and diets. Currently, Meniere’s patients must identify potential treatments using anecdotal information online which can be frustrating. The data acquired by this system can be used to identify the top performing interventions, giving users a clear roadmap on interventions they would like to try first ranging from supplements and diets to effective movement exercises and stress management techniques. 
Community

Beyond achieving the obvious benefits of viewing common triggers and symptom management techniques at scale, this system would provide a means to connect with a community of individuals battling the same challenges with Meniere’s. This type of integrated solutions does not currently exist for Meniere’s patients. 

## Closing Thoughts
While the relatively small number of Meniere’s patients make the commercialization of such product more challenging, there is likely a more generalized product that could be applied to many chronic conditions that require daily lifestyle intervention. It is also worth noting that those suffering from chronic diseases like Meniere’s are often experts at listening to their bodies to understand their current state and future states and as such are vital contributors to the development of technology that attempts to do the same.