What is vertigo?
Vertigo is the sensation that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving when you’re actually still. It’s usually caused by problems in the inner ear or brain. There are a several causes of vertigo, but the most common cause BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo).
What is BPPV?
BPPV is often missed by health care providers as the cause of vertigo. It is caused by dislodged calcium crystals (called otoconia) from the utricle (part of the inner ear). These crystals can move into one of the semicircular canals (usually the posterior canal), disrupting normal fluid movement and falsely signaling motion to the brain.
BPPV differs from other causes of vertigo as it is almost always positional and brought on from turning your head in a particular direction or angle. It is not life-threatening and comes in brief sudden episodes. It usually produces a particular rapid eye movement called nystagmus. Nystagmus is a hallmark sign of BPPV, but its absence doesn’t rule it out.
The person experiencing a BPPV episode will see the room spinning and may even feel like they are going to pass out. A trained vestibular therapist can see nystagmus (rapid eye movements). These movements are involuntary rhythmic movements horizontally, vertically or circular. The direction of the movements can point to which canal the ear crystal is in. These episodes usually last a few seconds to a minute. Sometimes there is nausea or even vomiting from an episode.
What Can You Do?
Fortunately, there are specific head maneuvers that can be done to out of the canal and back to where it belongs. These maneuvers have a very high success rate of bringing relief from BPPV. Some people will only have one isolated episode. Others may have recurring episodes.
There is growing evidence that vitamin D and calcium supplementation can help prevent recurrences, especially in some individuals.
If you suffer from BPPV, finding a good vestibular therapist specifically trained in BPPV maneuvers provides welcome relief.
Other Causes of Vertigo
Some other causes of vertigo are Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis, anxiety, and certain medications. More serious causes of vertigo can be migraines, MS, stroke or a brain tumor.