The episodes can last for days and sometimes require bed rest. Vestibular neuritis, which may be caused by a virus, is an inflammation in the inner ear that causes sudden, intense vertigo along with nausea and vomiting. Baloh says: canalith repositioning, in which the doctor maneuvers your head so that the particles shift and can be reabsorbed into your body's fluids. Thankfully, 'there is a simple cure for BPPV,' Dr. Doctors don't know what causes BPPV, though it may be due to aging or head trauma. These crystals can fall into the wrong part of your inner ear canal and stimulate sensors, causing vertigo. 'At best it provides symptomatic relief, particularly for associated nausea, but it does not address the underlying problem'-the breaking loose of normal calcium carbonate crystals in your ear. 'Most physicians-including some neurologists-prescribe meclizine (Antivert) for vertigo, regardless of the cause,' Dr. 'But it is also a common symptom with migraine and occurs in at least 50 percent of patients with multiple sclerosis.'īPPV (the most common cause of vertigo) involves intense, brief episodes of vertigo associated with a change in the position of your head, such as when sitting up in bed. 'The most common causes of vertigo are inner-ear problems: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, and Meniere's syndrome,' Dr. In one study of 65- to 75-year-olds, one-third reported that dizziness and imbalance have a negative impact on quality of life. According to the National Institutes of Health, a majority of people 70 years of age and older report dizziness and balance problems, and balance-related falls account for more than one-half of accidental deaths in the elderly. An article in the journal Neurology in 2005 concluded that vertigo affects at least five percent of adults. Vertigo can make your life miserable, and the majority of cases go untreated, says Dr. Baloh, M.D., professor of neurology and head and neck surgery at UCLA School of Medicine. 'Dizziness is a general term for spatial disorientation, while vertigo is an illusion of motion-usually spinning,' explains Robert W. Hitchcock knew the feeling of dizziness is as unsettling as it is common, which is why audiences have loved Vertigo since its release in 1958.Īctually, dizziness and vertigo are different. If you've never experienced vertigo, check out Alfred Hitchcock's film noir classic by the same name: the sensational rooftop opener will make your head swim. Let your neurologist help get you back on an even keel.

Vertigo Symptoms, Treatments, and Causes Don't ignore vertigo or try to live with it.

Vertigo cause