Vertigo Clinic

Vertigo is a feeling of loss of balance associated with a sensation of spinning around or that the surrounding world is spinning. This condition is often triggered by a change in head position, symptoms of vertigo include tilting, spinning, swaying, and feeling of getting pulled in one direction. Other symptoms include vomiting, nausea, nystagmus or jerking eye movements, sweating, headache, and ringing in the ears.

Causes of vertigo include semicircular canal weakness, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Meniere's disease, labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis, ear pathologies, acoustic neuroma, stroke, and head and neck trauma.

Vertigo is diagnosed based on history and physical examination. Besides asking questions about your symptoms, your doctor may recommend a few investigations to confirm the diagnosis. Tests to diagnose vertigo include:

• Fukuda-Unterberger's test
  The patient is asked to march for 30 seconds with closed eyes. If he tends to lean or rotate to one side, it indicates issues with the inner ear labyrinth, which may give rise to vertigo.
• Romberg's test
  The patient is asked to stand with feet together and arms to the sides with closed eyes. If he experienced instability, it indicates problems with the central nervous system.
• Head impulse test
  The patient's head is gently moved to one side by the healthcare provider while he is asked to focus on a stationary object. The doctor carefully observes the working of the inner ear balance system to control eye movements while the head moves.
• Vestibular test battery
  Several different tests are performed to identify inner ear issues.

Treatment of vertigo depends on several factors, of which the most important is the root cause. The most commonly used treatment options by medical professionals for vertigo include medications, vestibular rehabilitation, canalith repositioning procedure (CRP), and surgery.