A person with vertigo will have a sense of spinning dizziness. Vertigo is a symptom of a range of conditions. It can happen when there is a problem with the inner ear, brain, or sensory nerve pathway.
Dizziness, including vertigo, can happen at any age, but it is common in people aged 65 yearsTrusted Source or over.
Vertigo can be temporary or long-term. It can occur during pregnancy or as a symptom of an ear infection. People with an inner ear disorder, such as Ménière’s disease, sometimes also experience vertigo.
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What is vertigo?
Vertigo is a sensation of spinning dizziness, as though the room or surrounding environment is spinning in circles around the person. Many people use the term to describe a fear of heights, but this is not correct.
Vertigo can happen when a person looks down from a great height, but it usually refers to any temporary or ongoing spells of dizziness that occur due to problems in the inner ear or brain.
It is
not an illness but a symptom. Many different conditions can cause vertigo.
Symptoms
A person with vertigo will feel as though their head or the space around them is moving or spinning.
Vertigo is a symptom, but it can lead to or occur alongside other symptoms, too.
These
may include:
■ balance problems
■ lightheadedness
■ a sense of motion sickness
■ nausea and vomiting
■ ringing in the ear, called tinnitus
■ a feeling of fullness in the ear
■ headaches
■ nystagmus, in which the eyes move uncontrollably, usually from side to side
Causes
Various conditions can lead to vertigo, which usually involves either an imbalance in the inner ear or a problem with the central nervous system (CNS).
Conditions that can lead to vertigo include the following.
Labyrinthitis
This disorder can happen when an infection causes inflammation of the inner ear labyrinth. Within this area is the vestibulocochlear nerve.
This nerve sends information to the brain about head motion, position, and sound.
Apart from dizziness with vertigo, a person with labyrinthitis may experience hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches, ear pain, and vision changes.
Vestibular neuritis
An infection causes vestibular neuritis, which is inflammation of the vestibular nerve. It is similar to labyrinthitis, but it does not affect a person’s hearing. Vestibular neuritis causes vertigo that may accompany blurred vision, severe nausea, or a feeling of being off balance.
Cholesteatoma
This noncancerous skin growth develops in the middle ear, usually due to repeated infection. As it grows behind the eardrum, it can damage the middle ear’s bony structures, leading to hearing loss and dizziness.
Ménière’s disease
This disease causes a buildup of fluid in the inner ear, which can lead to attacks of vertigo with ringing in the ears and hearing loss. It tends to be more common in people between the ages of 40 and 60 years.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimate that 615,000 people in the United States currently have a diagnosis of Ménière’s disease, with doctors diagnosing about 45,500 new cases each year.
The
exact cause is unclear, but it may stem from blood vessel constriction, a viral
infection, or an autoimmune reaction. There may also be a genetic component
that means that it runs in some families.
Home remedies
Individuals can take steps at home to help resolve vertigo and limit its effects.
Lifestyle changes
Steps
that can help reduce the effects of vertigo include:
■ lying still in a quiet, dark
room when the spinning is severe
■ sitting down as soon as the feeling of dizziness appears
■ taking extra time to perform movements that may trigger
symptoms, such as getting up, looking upward, or turning the head
■ squatting instead of bending over to pick something up
■ using a cane when walking, if necessary
■ sleeping with the head raised on two or more pillows
■ making adaptations in the home
■ turning on lights when getting up at night to help prevent falls
Anyone
who experiences vertigo or other types of dizziness should not drive or use a
ladder.
Herbal remedies
Some herbal solutions may help improve symptoms.
These
include:
■ cayenne
■ turmeric
■ ginkgo biloba
■ ginger root
■ Gongjin-dan
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 2015 studyTrusted Source 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.
Exercises
Exercises
can help relieve symptoms in some cases.
The Epley maneuver for BPPV
A technique known as the Epley maneuver can help some people with vertigo that stems from BPPV.
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.
For BPPV involving the
left inner ear:
1. Sit
on a bed and place a pillow behind the body where the shoulders will be on
lying down.
2. Rotate
the head 45 degrees to the left.
3. Keeping
the head in position, lie down on the back with the shoulders on the pillow so
that the head tilts back slightly and touches the bed. Hold for 30 seconds.
4. Rotate
the head to the right by 90 degrees and hold for 30 seconds.
5. Turn
the body and head, in their current positions, 90 degrees to the right. Hold
for 30 seconds.
6. Slowly
sit up and lower the legs on the right-hand side of the bed.
7. Hold
for a couple of minutes while the inner ear makes adjustments.
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