Symptoms and Treatments

What is Vertigo?

When you feel as if your surroundings are moving or spinning, you can have a medical condition called vertigo. It’s not the same as feeling dizzy as vertigo creates an illusion of movement. If you feel yourself moving when you are not, it’s called subjective vertigo and a feeling that your surroundings are moving is called objective vertigo.

Vertigo results from the loss or impairment of neurological functions that control sense of balance. The inner middle ear accounts for this equilibrium and any problem with them is known to cause vertigo.

Causes and Risk Factors of Vertigo

In almost all vertigo cases, the brain or the inner ear is involved.

• A head trauma causing concussions as well a whiplash or neck injury can trigger vertigo and usually goes away independently of other symptoms of the injury.
• Benign paroxysmal positional verity or BPPV is the most common vertigo caused by sudden head movements.
• Vertigo is also commonly caused by inflammation of the inner ear in a condition called labyrinthritis which is triggered by viral or bacterial infection. Temporary hearing loss is also associated with it.
• Migraine can also trigger vertigo which is episodic.
• Vertigo is the main symptom of multiple sclerosis whose onset can be abrupt.
• Acoustic Neuroma is a kind of tumor that trigger vertigo and is characterized by ringing of the ear and hearing loss but on one side only.
• Mild cerebral hemorrhage where bleeding gets into the back of the brain is certain to cause vertigo accompanied by headaches and walking difficulties.
• Vertigo can be caused by brain lesion that adversely affects the central nervous system and may require a more focused attention from a neurologist or neurosurgeon.

Symptoms of Vertigo

With vertigo, the sensation of motion or disorientation can be accompanied with nausea and vomiting, sweating or abnormal eye movements. These symptoms are often episodic that can last for a few minutes or sustained but lasting for a few hours. It can be triggered by sudden movement or a simple change in position, whether seated or standing. In some cases, the ears can suffer a ringing sensation, partial or complete but temporary and episodic hearing loss. Any suspicion of brain lesion or cerebral hemorrhage needs immediate referral to a neurologist.

Diagnosis

Vertigo is diagnosed primarily using the patient’s medical history and a physical examination. It is also important that any incidence of abnormal eye movements, sweating, nausea, hearing loss, ringing of the ears, walking difficulties, visual impairment, and vomiting be reported to aid the doctor in making a firmer diagnosis.

A CT scan is often in order especially if a brain trauma or injury is suspected after a fall or an accident that can cause head or neck injuries. Blood tests to check sugar levels as well as an electrocardiogram or ECG to check on heart rhythms can also be prescribed.

Treatment of Vertigo

Mild episodic vertigo can be treated at home but only if prescribed by the doctor. There are drugs vertigo sufferers can take orally, a patch on the skin or intravenously. Depending on the diagnosed cause of the vertigo, additional treatment may be required.

Vertigo caused by Meniere’s disase are put on a low salt diet. Vertigo caused by bacterial infection in the middle ear can be treated with antibiotics. Severe cases can be incapacitating and may require continued use of drugs and rehabilitation therapies to make the condition regress or more tolerable.

Physical therapy with vestibular rehabilitation exercises can be prescribed in patients suffering paroxysmal vertigo.

Vertigo suffers with disturbingly visible abnormal eye movements are often prescribed with repeated particle repositioning exercise to correct the displacement of small stones in the vestibular balance center of the inner ears.