A 72-year-old patient verbalized that he has very loud, overpowering ringing in both ears, intermittent hearing loss on the right side, and severe vertigo with nausea. The nurse assessing the patient suspects that he has:

Explanation

• Meniere's disease is characterized by vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss. Patients may have exacerbations or "attacks" of Meniere's disease 

• Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that results from dilation of the endolymphatic system and increased endolymphatic fluid in the inner ear, interfering with sensation of balance and creating dizziness, nausea, and fluctuating hearing loss 

• Incorrect: Cholesteatoma leads to hearing loss, painless pearly white otorrhea, and perforation of the tympanic membrane 

• Incorrect: Otosclerosis has a characteristic symptom of white chalky plaques on the eardrum accompanied by hearing loss 

• Incorrect: With acoustic neuroma, there is unilateral hearing loss, tinnitus in the affected ear, and intermittent vertigo with associated nausea and vomiting. The main difference from Meniere's disease is that acoustic neuroma has unilateral involvement and progresses without improvement

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