Vertigo what is it and what causes it

You won't normally have any hearing problems. This can cause vertigo, as well as hearing loss, tinnitus and aural fullness a feeling of pressure in your ear. The attacks often cause nausea and vomiting. The cause is unknown, but symptoms can be controlled by diet and medication.

Rarely, you may need further treatment in the form of surgery. Vertigo may occur as a side effect of some types of medication. Check the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine to see if vertigo is listed as a possible side effect.

Don't stop taking prescribed medication without your doctor's advice, but speak to your GP if you're worried about the side effects. They may be able to prescribe an alternative medication.

Central vertigo is caused by problems in part of your brain, such as the cerebellum located at the bottom of the brain or the brainstem the lower part of the brain that's connected to the spinal cord.

Causes of central vertigo include:. Your GP will ask about your symptoms and carry out some simple tests to help them make an accurate diagnosis. Your GP may also carry out a physical examination to check for signs of conditions that may be causing your vertigo. This could include looking inside your ears and checking your eyes for signs of uncontrollable movement nystagmus.

Your GP may check your balance or try to recreate your symptoms by asking you to move quickly from a sitting to a lying position. If you have tinnitus ringing in your ears or hearing loss, your GP may refer you to an ear, nose and throat ENT specialist, who can carry out some hearing tests.

Videonystagmography VNG is sometimes used to check for signs of nystagmus in more detail. Nystagmus can indicate a problem with the organs that help you to balance. During this test, special goggles are placed over your eyes and you'll be asked to look at various still and moving targets.

The goggles are fitted with a video camera to record the movements of your eyes. Electronystagmography may also be used, where electrodes are placed around the eye instead of goggles.

A caloric test involves running warm or cool water or air into your ear for about 30 seconds. The change in temperature stimulates the balance organ in the ear, allowing the specialist to check how well it's working. This test isn't painful, although it's normal to feel dizzy during the test. This can sometimes continue for a few minutes afterwards. A machine to test your balance may be used to give valuable information about how you are using your vision, proprioception sensations from your feet and joints and the input from your ear to maintain balance.

This may help to plan your rehabilitation and monitor your treatment. In some cases, a scan of your head may be used to look for the cause of your vertigo, such as an acoustic neuroma a non-cancerous brain tumour. An MRI scan uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce a detailed image of the inside of your head, whereas a CT scan uses a series of detailed X-rays to create an image. During a vertigo attack, lying still in a quiet, darkened room may help to ease any symptoms of nausea and reduce the sensation of spinning.

You may be advised to take medication. You should also try to avoid stressful situations, as anxiety can make the symptoms of vertigo worse. Read more about what to do if you're struggling with stress. Labyrinthitis is an inner ear infection that causes the labyrinth a delicate structure deep inside your ear to become inflamed. It's usually caused by a viral infection and clears up on its own without treatment.

In rare cases, where labyrinthitis is caused by a bacterial infection, antibiotics may be prescribed. If you've experienced any hearing loss, your GP may refer you to an ear, nose and throat ENT specialist or an audiovestibular physician.

This is a doctor who specialises in hearing and balance disorders. You may need emergency treatment to restore your hearing.

Labyrinthitis may also be treated with vestibular rehabilitation — also called vestibular rehabilitation training or VRT see below.

See treating labyrinthitis for more information. Vestibular neuronitis, also known as vestibular neuritis, is inflammation of the vestibular nerve one of the nerves in your ear that's used for balance. It's usually caused by a viral infection. The symptoms of vestibular neuronitis often get better without treatment over several weeks.

However, you may need to rest in bed if your symptoms are severe. See your GP if your symptoms get worse or don't start to improve after a week. Like vestibular neuronitis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo BPPV often clears up without treatment after several weeks or months.

It's thought that the small fragments of debris in the ear canal that cause vertigo either dissolve or become lodged in a place where they no longer cause symptoms. BPPV can sometimes return. The Epley manoeuvre involves performing four separate head movements to move the fragments that cause vertigo to a place where they no longer cause symptoms.

Each head position is held for at least 30 seconds. You may experience some vertigo during the movements. Antihistamines are available over the counter or to purchase online. These may include meclizine, glycopyrrolate, or lorazepam, which can help relieve dizziness due to this condition.

Steps that can help reduce the effects of vertigo include :. These include :. There is not enough evidence to confirm that herbal remedies can relieve vertigo. However, a clinical trial is currently underway to investigate the effects of Gongjin-dan. A study found that 30 minutes of acupuncture helped reduce symptoms in 60 people who visited an emergency department with dizziness and vertigo.

However, more research is necessary to confirm the effectiveness of this treatment method. People should ask their doctor before using any alternative treatments. They should also see a doctor if vertigo starts suddenly or gets worse, as they may need treatment for an underlying condition.

Learn more here about home remedies for vertigo. The maneuver aims to move calcium carbonate particles from the semicircular canals back to the otolith organs of the vestibule, where they are less likely to cause symptoms in the inner ear.

There are different types of vertigo, which vary in their cause. Peripheral vertigo usually results from problems in the inner ear. This process enables people to keep their balance when they stand up.

Changes to this system can produce vertigo. BPPV and inflammation are common causes. Central vertigo relates to problems with the CNS. It usually stems from a problem in a part of the brain stem or cerebellum.

Possible causes include vestibular migraine, demyelination, and tumors involving the affected CNS region or regions. A problem with the cervical spine can lead to vertigo. Learn more here.

The doctor will try to find out what is causing the dizziness. They will carry out a physical examination, ask the person how their dizziness makes them feel, and take their medical history. Here are two examples :. If the person becomes unsteady on closing their eyes, this could be a sign of a CNS problem. If they rotate to one side, this may indicate a lesion in the inner ear labyrinth, which could cause peripheral vertigo. Otolith organs contain small crystals that make you responsive to gravity.

Sometimes, these crystals can break free and move into the semicircular canals. This can irritate the hair cells within the canals and make them more sensitive to head position changes. It can allow for false messages about your body's position to be sent to your brain. Basically, inner ear disorders cause your brain to obtain signals from the inner ear that don't match up with what your eyes and sensory nerves nerves that send messages to your brain receive.

Diagnosing vertigo isn't always simple. In fact, it can be a tricky and involved process, because people with dizziness often have trouble describing their specific symptoms. Each person may require different testing, depending on the suspected cause of vertigo.

When choosing a specialist, you should consider his or her education, training, and experience. You might also want to ask if the specialist's facility has equipment for diagnosing and treating vertigo disorders.

While the diagnostic process may seem tedious at times, it's important to stay the course so you can find out what's causing your symptoms. It's also a good idea to see your healthcare provider if you have any type of dizziness that interferes with your daily activities.

In many cases, symptoms of vertigo will resolve on their own within a few days. But for other people, it's chronic. Living with vertigo can be frustrating. Your episodes may be unpredictable and sporadic. Some days, you may not experience any symptoms, while other days, you might have debilitating bouts of dizziness. The good news is there are effective treatment options and most of the time, these treatments can help you control or eliminate your symptoms, so you can enjoy everyday activities.

Other types of physical therapy are used to relieve vertigo caused by inner ear problems. Sometimes medicines, injections, psychotherapy, or surgery are needed. Your doctor can help you decide which options are best for you. Additionally, yoga, tai chi, relaxation techniques, and adequate sleep might help you improve balance and ward off a vertigo episode.

Talk to your doctor before performing any at-home remedies. But knowing and avoiding certain risk factors may help prevent it. For instance, you can protect yourself from a head injury by wearing a helmet when bicycling or playing sports or taking measures to prevent a fall.

Typically, people with persistent vertigo are advised not to drive or operate machinery because these activities can pose dangers to themselves and others.

Vertigo is typically more prevalent in older people, but it can affect anyone at any age. Women are slightly more likely to experience vertigo symptoms than men.

Vertigo can affect people of all colors and ethnicities, but some research has shown minorities may have a higher risk for certain types of dizziness. The authors of the study say this may be because diabetes rates are higher in Black Americans. Managing vertigo can seem overwhelming and difficult at first. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources out there that can help you learn more about the problem and navigate getting treatment.

VeDA's goal is to educate, support, and empower people who suffer from vestibular disorders, like vertigo. One unique feature is their patient registry — a database of health info that documents patient experiences.

American Institute of Balance. This is one of the country's largest multispecialty centers for the evaluation and treatment of dizziness and balance disorders. Check out their self-quiz for dizziness and balance problems. A vertigo attack can last from a few seconds to hours. If you have severe vertigo, it can last for many days or months. There are things you can do to ease vertigo symptoms when they're happening, and to reduce the number of episodes you have.

The GP will ask about your symptoms to try to find out what type of vertigo you have. A simple test that involves you moving quickly from a sitting to a lying position might be done to check your balance.

This could bring on symptoms.