Menieres Disease Travel Insurance

No specialist referral for worsening or destabilisation of your Ménière’s in the last 12 months

No hospital admissions for the condition at any point

Not on a waiting list for treatment

Not waiting on test or investigation results

If the above statement and restrictions do not apply to you or you have any other medical conditions, you can get a quote and policy by following this link:

GET A QUOTE

• Cover Highlights
• Summary of Cover
• Does Flying Trigger Ménière’s Attacks?
• Cruising with Ménière’s
• How Does Weather Affect Ménière’s?
• Preparing for Your Trip
• Managing Ménière’s While You Are Away
• Driving Abroad with Ménière’s
• Ménière’s and Other Conditions
• Useful Websites

• Emergency medical expenses abroad - up to £5 million, including treatment for your Ménière’s, with repatriation to the UK where medically necessary.
• Cancellation - £7,500 per person on Platinum and £3,000 on Gold, where a doctor confirms you are not fit to travel.
• Delayed baggage - essential replacements including medication if your bag is more than 12 hours late outbound. £50 per 24 hours up to £250 on Gold, £100 per 24 hours up to £500 on Platinum.
• 24 Hour Emergency Assistance Line - +44 (0)1444 465 579, any time, anywhere.

*Excess payables vary depending on the claim benefit.

Please read the Policy Wording for the complete list of Benefits.

Healix Insurance Services Ltd, on behalf of Hamilton Insurance DAC, arranges this Travel Insurance policy for Jade Stanley Ltd. Healix Insurance Ltd is registered in England and Wales under No. 5484190 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under No. 437248. Hamilton Insurance DAC is registered in Ireland, No. 484148, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland, and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority in connection with its UK branch. Jade Stanley Ltd is registered in England and Wales under No. 03570857 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under No. 306205.

It is the question we are asked most, and the reassuring answer from Ménière’s & Vestibular UK is that flying should not present any particular problem. Cabin pressure changes affect the middle ear, which can cause earache or fullness - but that is a different part of the ear from the one causing your vertigo. Chew, swallow, or use the Valsalva manoeuvre on descent, and take a decongestant if you are congested.

Modern ships are stabilised and move less than most people expect - a cabin mid-ship on a lower deck least of all. Do note that a voyage of more than 48 hours calling at more than one port needs Cruise cover added to your policy.

This is one condition where the weather link is well established. A UK study tracked 397 people with consultant-diagnosed Ménière’s through the Ménière’s Monitor app, matching their daily symptoms against Met Office data. It found:

• Low pressure - below 1,013 hPa, the risk of an attack rose by around 30%. Unsettled, stormy weather is the pattern to watch.
• High humidity - above 90%, attack risk rose by around 26%. Worth knowing before booking somewhere tropical in the wet season.
• Heat - less clear in the research, but dehydration upsets the fluid balance that matters in Ménière’s, so keep your water and salt intake steady in hot countries.

None of this should stop you travelling - but if you know your attacks follow the weather, a pressure app and a flexible first day or two can take the pressure off.

• Anti-sickness medication in hand luggage. If you take something like prochlorperazine for acute attacks, keep it on you - not in the hold. Tablets that dissolve in the mouth are easier if you are being sick.
• Enough betahistine for the whole trip, split between bags, in original packaging with a copy of your prescription.
• Book seats that move least - over the wing on a plane, mid-ship and low on a ferry, near the front of a coach.
• Request airport assistance when you book if an attack would leave you unable to manage long walks or queues. It is free, and no one will question it.
• Plan the food. If you follow a low-salt diet, restaurant and hotel food abroad is often much saltier than home cooking - worth a look at menus before you go.
• Spare hearing aid batteries. Note that hearing aids themselves are not covered under baggage cover, so keep them with you at all times.
• Get a free GHIC for Europe from gov.uk - it works alongside your insurance, not instead of it.

• If an attack starts, sit or lie down straight away. Do not try to walk it off - most attacks pass within a few hours,s and the main risk is falling.
• Keep hydrated and keep salt steady. Heat, alcohol, and long flights all work against the fluid balance in your inner ear.
• Go easy on alcohol and caffeine - both are common triggers, and holiday routines make it easy to have more of both than usual.
• Do not overload the days. Tiredness and stress are among the most reliable triggers there are - build in slow mornings.
• Sunglasses and a hat. Glare, busy markets, and patterned floors can all bring on visual dizziness.
• Scuba diving is not advised with Ménière’s - talk to your doctor before booking anything underwater.
• Needing hospital treatment? Call the 24 Hour Emergency Assistance Line on +44 (0)1444 465 579 before you go - see our Make a Claim page.

If your Ménière’s causes sudden, disabling vertigo, you must tell the DVLA and your motor insurer - our cover for driving abroad relies on you holding the right licence and insurance. Never drive if you feel an attack coming on.

Ménière’s often travels in company. Tinnitus and hearing loss are part of the condition for most people; migraine is closely linked (vestibular migraine can look very similar), and living with unpredictable attacks means Anxiety is common too. All three are on our Accepted Medical Conditions list, so having them alongside your Ménière’s need not stop you buying online - each just has to meet its own terms.

If you have a condition that is not on the list, or you do not meet the terms for one that is, call us on 0800 043 0020, and we will arrange cover that includes everything.

Ménière’s & Vestibular UK

NHS - Ménière’s Disease