What are the Causes of Vertigo?

Vertigo is the sensation as if your surrounding is spinning or tilting accompanied by loss of balance. It may be a symptom of a disorder, and to treat it, one has to identify the cause. The identification of the causes of vertigo is crucial in determining what treatment procedure to follow. In pinning down the culprit, the examining physician may have to issue tests. The medical background of the patient is checked, too.

A sensation of motion even if you are still is a tell tale sign of vertigo, which is also usually accompanied by perspiration, queasiness, and vomiting. A person who is experiencing a spell of vertigo may feel worse when he changes position or moves about. Drugs may also trigger spells of dizziness.

Vertigo may be associated by ringing sound in the ears, temporary hearing loss, disturbances in visual sensation, confusion, abnormal movements of the eye, and speech difficulty.

The causes of vertigo usually involve disorders that affect the vestibular system, which includes the cerebellum, brainstem, vestibular nerve, and areas in the inner ear. This system of organs is involved in the perception of movement and balance. The inner ear houses the labyrinth – which receives head movement signals. The labyrinth is composed of three semicircular canals, which are surrounded by fluid. The movement signals are then passed in from the labyrinth to the vestibular nerve, which then carries the signals to the brain stem and cerebellum, where motor coordination and control of posture and balance occur. A disruption of this process gives rise to false sensation or perception of movement.

One prevalent cause of dizziness is benign paroxysmal position vertigo (BPPV), which could be associated with deafness, faulty cognitive response, and weakness of the facial muscles. However, other conditions like Meniere’s disease may also result in vertigo. Meniere’s disease is the build up of fluid called endolymph in the inner ear which causes dizziness, tinnitus and deafness. In the long list of possible causes of ear ringing, Meniere's happens to be one of the most famous causes.

A benign vestibular nerve tumor, labyrinthitis (inflammation of the labyrinth), ototoxic drugs, head injury, and orthostatic hypotension (a sudden shift or drop in blood pressure after standing from a sitting or reclining position) are conditions to be checked in case of dizziness or vertigo.

It is the culprit that must be corrected, not the symptoms. This is why proper diagnosis is important. However, some conditions may have no absolute treatment. For instance, Meniere’s disease is dealt with through a low sodium diet, but no exact treatment is at hand. Ear specialists however, may be able to correct vertigo through a series of therapies. There are medications that target the causes of vertigo like ear infections, labyrinthitis, and BPPV.