Prosper Ménière

Who was Prosper Ménière?

Prosper Ménière was born in Angers, France. He was lycée- and university-educated and he excelled at humanities and classics. He completed his gold medal in medical studies at Hôtel-Dieu de Paris in 1826, and his M.D. in 1828. He then assisted Guillaume Dupuytren.

Ménière was originally set to be an assistant professor in faculty, but political tensions disturbed his professorship and he was sent to control the spread of cholera. He received a legion of honor for his work, but never gained professorship. After securing the position of physician-in-chief at the Institute for deaf-mutes, he focused on the diseases of the ear.

Ménière's studies at the deaf-mute institute helped formulate his paper, On a particular kind of hearing loss resulting from lesions of the inner ear which ultimately led to the recognition of Ménière's disease.

There is debate as to how Ménière's name is spelled. Prosper himself was known to write his name as "Menière" while his son used the spelling "Ménière." Many people omit the accent marks.