What is vertigo means

When the labyrinth becomes inflamed, the information it sends to your brain is different from the information sent from your unaffected ear and your eyes. These conflicting signals cause vertigo and dizziness. Labyrinthitis is usually caused by a viral infection, such as the common cold or flu , which spreads to the labyrinth.

Less commonly, it's caused by a bacterial infection. Vertigo caused by labyrinthitis may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hearing loss , tinnitus and sometimes a high temperature and ear pain. Vestibular neuronitis, also known as vestibular neuritis, is an inner ear condition that causes inflammation of the nerve connecting the labyrinth to the brain. In some cases, the labyrinth itself can also be inflamed.

The condition is usually caused by a viral infection. It usually comes on suddenly and can cause other symptoms, such as unsteadiness, nausea feeling sick and vomiting being sick.

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. Your symptoms should improve shortly after the Epley manoeuvre is performed, although it may take up to two weeks for a complete recovery.

Return to your GP if your symptoms haven't improved after four weeks. The Epley manoeuvre isn't usually a long-term cure and may need to be repeated. If the Epley manoeuvre doesn't work, or if it's not suitable — for example, because you have neck or back problems — you can also try Brandt-Daroff exercises.

These are a series of movements you can do unsupervised at home. Your GP will need to teach you how to do the exercises. You repeat them three or four times a day for two days in a row. Your symptoms may improve for up to two weeks. 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.

Balance and Dizziness Canada. This organization aims to increase awareness of balance disorders and empower those affected by dizziness. Their Ask an Expert section lets you submit questions to top health professionals. You might also want to check out the legal services page, which offers advice on finding a lawyer if you need help navigating disability benefits. VeDA Support Groups. Connecting with others might be just what you need to cope with your vertigo episodes.

Or, you can join an online group. This free app demonstrates how vestibular disorders happen in the body. It was designed as a teaching tool for college-level students and medical professionals, but the information could help laypeople, too. Need a personal trainer for your vertigo exercises? Try Vestibio. It helps you complete your prescribed exercises and automatically saves your results to share with your doctor later.

Vertigo Detective. She offers tips on managing dizziness, recognizing symptoms, and more. Mummy Seeing Double. Written by a mom of twins, this blog chronicles the writer's experience with vestibular migraines and other chronic illnesses.

American Academy of Neurology. The American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting covers some of the latest breakthroughs for neurological disorders. You can browse the program here. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. Reviewed: March 19, Medically Reviewed. Many people describe vertigo as feeling dizzy, but it's different from being light-headed. Types of Vertigo The two main types of vertigo are: Peripheral vertigo Peripheral vertigo is caused by a problem in areas of the inner ear or the vestibular nerve, which connects the inner ear and the brain.

This is the most common type of vertigo. Central vertigo Central vertigo happens when there's a glitch in the brain, particularly in an area of the brain called the cerebellum.

Researchers recently discovered a new kind of vertigo. Some common signs and symptoms of peripheral vertigo include:. Being a woman and being older than 50 can up your risk of having a vertigo episode. A family member with vertigo, or other factors, such as having a head injury, can also increase your chances of developing symptoms. First, your doctor will try to find out if you have "true vertigo" by asking about your specific complaints. Then, the focus will be on diagnosing a cause.

Your physician might inquire about your family and medical history, perform a physical exam, and conduct various tests. They may perform a maneuver with you, called the Dix Hallpike maneuver, to re-create vertigo symptoms.

If positive, this is diagnostic of peripheral vertigo. Other physical examinations measure your balance, analyze your eye movements, or assess what side of your body is affected by vertigo.

In some cases, hearing tests, vision tests, blood work, and even allergy tests are also used. Hormonal changes appear to play a role , as they affect the characteristics of the fluid in the body. A study surveyed 82 women during pregnancy. More than half of them reported experiencing dizziness during the first two trimesters, while one-third reported dizziness in the third trimester. Nausea is common throughout pregnancy, but it tends to reduce as the pregnancy progresses.

Many women in the survey linked nausea with dizziness. Balance problems were also common, but these tended to worsen during the second and third trimesters. The authors suggested that during pregnancy, hormonal changes bring about alterations in the inner ear. They proposed that as time goes on, the woman gets used to the new balance in the ear, and the symptoms of nausea and dizziness improve.

The worsening of balance problems could be due to the changes in body weight and posture that occur during pregnancy. In , scientists published research involving four case studies.

The authors suggested that hormonal changes may lead to BPPV during pregnancy and that estrogen , specifically, may play a role. Drug treatment may be available for reducing nausea, dizziness, and other vertigo-related symptoms during pregnancy, but a woman should ask her doctor for advice.

Some treatments may not be suitable to use at this time. Vertigo itself is not necessarily hereditary, but it is commonly a symptom of various conditions and syndromes. Some of these appear to involve specific genetic factors and may run in families. If a person has recurrent vertigo, it may have a hereditary or genetic component.

Scientists have been looking into the genetic profile of various conditions that involve vertigo. Vestibular migraine can involve vertigo. Find out more about this condition here. Some types of vertigo resolve without treatment, but a person may need treatment for an underlying problem. A doctor may, for example, prescribe antibiotics for a bacterial infection or antiviral drugs for shingles. Medications are available that can relieve some symptoms.

These drugs include antihistamines and anti-emetics to reduce motion sickness and nausea. Surgery may be necessary if other treatments are not effective. BPPV and acoustic neuroma are two conditions for which this may be appropriate. 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.