Introduction: Individuals with Ménière’s disease (MD) are likely to perform some kind of exercises to alleviate their symptoms.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to explore the association between self-administered exercises and characteristics of MD.

Method: The study used a retrospective design and included 539 people with MD from Finnish Ménière Federation (FMA). The mean age and a mean history of MD was 61.9 years and 15.6 years, respectively. 79.5% of the study participants were females. The data was collected with electronic questionnaire focusing on exercise and training habits, symptoms of MD, balance problems, impacts of the complaints, and quality of life.

Results: 70% of the participants did some self-administered training. The frequency of training was associated with age, severity of balance problems, vestibular drop attacks (VDA), and gait problems. The type of training was associated with age, quality of life, VDA, and gait problems. Quality of life and type of balance training varied as a result of severity of balance problem. However, no association was found between vertigo and frequency/type of balance training. In logistic regression analysis training was explained by gait problems, constant dizziness, visual fields problems, severity of the postural derangement, and the duration of MD.

Conclusions: Various MD characteristics were associated with the frequency and type of self-administered exercises. Most participants with MD used training program that aimed to alleviate their condition, especially the balance, gait and VDA associated problems. Patient organization should characterize the type of balance disorder and individually tailor the rehabilitation program.