Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the first acute attack of Ménière’s disease

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the first acute attack of Ménière’s disease. A 69-year-old woman, with no history of vertigo attacks, presented with the classical triad of symptoms for Ménière’s disease in the right ear (vertigo, tinnitus, fullness). Upon admission, the patient had a third-degree horizontal nystagmus beating to the right, after beating towards the left ear a few hours earlier. Audiometry confirmed a severe sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear, especially at low and high frequencies. The following day, the patient complained of short episodes of vertigo linked to head movement, and the Hallpike test was compatible with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in the right ear.

To our knowledge this is the first description of BPPV of the posterior semicircular canal manifesting during the first vertiginous attack of Ménière’s disease in the same ear. It was possible that the hydropic distension or rupture damaged the otolithic apparatus, leading to the release of otoconia debris which migrated to the posterior semicircular canal where it resulted in BPPV.