Follow Us
Dr Sumit Singh
Vertigo is a sensation of spinning dizziness. It is not as simple as many people think. It is often associated with looking down from height but it can also be caused by the problems in inner ear or brain. This dizziness is comes with nausea, vomiting, sweating or difficulty in walking. Persistent vertigo has been linked with mental health issues. A psychiatric problem may cause dizziness, and vertigo may lead to depression and anxiety in an individual.
Many children attempt to create a sense of vertigo by spinning or riding on rollercoaster. This induced vertigo is self-limiting, it lasts for few minutes and then it disappears. But in case of a result of an injury or illness, it may last for hours and days before resolving. Dizziness can happen to anyone at any age but is common in people aged 65 years or above.
Symptoms and signs
A person with vertigo will feel his head is spinning. It can be a symptom of other medical conditions but it has own related symptoms such as:
n A sense of motion sickness
n A feeling of fullness in ear
n Headache
n Nausea or vomiting
n Balancing problems
n Sensitivity problems
Vertigo is not just a condition of headaches or faintness. It’s a rotational dizziness.
How it is diagnosed and treated?
During the evaluation for vertigo, a doctor will ask questions related to history of events and symptoms associated with vertigo. This will include medications, illness and other medical problems. After evaluating all symptoms, a physical neurology examination will be held to evaluate the brain function and determine whether it is peripheral or central Vertigo.
A medical professional might perform DIX- Hall pike test. This involves re-positioning of patient’s head and monitoring of symptoms. Not everyone is suggested this test. Instead of this, a professional might perform “roll test”, in which patient lies flat and head is rapidly moved from side to side. This may reproduce vertigo symptoms and may be helpful in determining the cause of vertigo.
Some of the cases of vertigo may require MRI or CT scan of the brain or inner ear for excluding structural brain problems like stroke, acoustic neuroma, malignant tumor. In rare cases, a small opening or fistula is identified in the space between inner ear and middle ear in which doctors will suggest surgical procedures which is removal of inner ear sense organ.
-------------------------------
Types of Vertigo
Peripheral Vertigo: It usually occurs when there is a disturbance in the balancing organs of the inner ear. The labyrinth of the inner ear has tiny organs that enable messages to be sent to the mind. These messages alert the brain when there is a movement from a vertical position. This enables people to keep their balance when they stand up. The disturbance to this system produces vertigo.
Central Vertigo: Central vertigo is linked to the problems with the central nervous system. The disturbance is caused in the brain stem or the cerebellum. These parts deal with the perception of vision and balance of a person.
Causes
Vertigo is commonly caused by a problem with the way balancing works in the inner ear, and by the problems in certain parts of the brain
Migraine headaches, continuous and severe
Inner ear infection, known as labyrinthitis
Vestibular neuronitis: It is the inflammation of vestibular nerve, which runs into the inner part of the ear and sends messages to the brain, which helps in controlling balance while walking.
Certain medication which can cause inner-ear infection
— The writer is a Director, Neurology, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram
1
3
8