Dizziness and Vertigo
Understanding Dizziness and Vertigo
By Neurosurgery Singapore
What is define by dizziness?
1. Vertigo:
- Description: A spinning sensation or feeling like the world around you is moving, even when you’re standing still.
- Common Cause: Often caused by issues in the inner ear or vestibular system, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Meniere’s disease, or vestibular neuritis.
2. Lightheadedness:
- Description: A feeling of faintness or near-fainting, often accompanied by a sensation of floating or being off balance.
- Common Cause: Can result from dehydration, low blood pressure, blood sugar drops, anemia, or standing up too quickly (orthostatic hypotension).
3. Disequilibrium:
- Description: A sense of unsteadiness or imbalance, especially when walking or standing, without the feeling of spinning.
- Common Cause: Often linked to problems with the inner ear or the nervous system, or issues related to aging or muscle weakness.
4. Presyncope:
- Description: The sensation of feeling like you’re about to faint, typically accompanied by weakness, sweating, and a sense of nausea.
- Common Cause: Can be triggered by low blood pressure, dehydration, or heart problems like arrhythmias.
What are some symptoms of dizziness?
General feeling of having it may include:
- a sensation of movement (including spinning), either of yourself or the external environment
- unsteadiness, including finding it difficult to walk in a straight line
- light-headedness
- feeling faint.
Other symptoms that may accompany it include:
- headache
- nausea and vomiting
- fatigue
- ringing or other sounds in the ears
- difficulty hearing
- staggering gait and loss of coordination
- unusual eye movements, such as flitting of the eyes
- blurred vision
- finding it difficult to see clearly when moving, for example, when reading a sign while walking or driving
- difficulty concentrating.
Symptoms may be constant or come and go. Episodes can last from minutes to days.
What are some symptoms of vertigo?
Vertigo is a sensation that the environment around you is spinning in circles. It can make you feel dizzy and off-balance.
Other symptoms you might experience when you have vertigo include:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Dizziness.
- Balance issues.
- Hearing loss in one or both ears.
- Tinnitus (ringing in your ears).
- Headaches.
- Motion sickness.
- A feeling of fullness in your ear.
- Nystagmus (a condition that causes your eyes to move from side to side rapidly and uncontrollably).
“Vertigo isn’t a disease or a condition on its own but a symptom of an underlying condition. Identifying the cause of your condition can help find a treatment that works to prevent episodes from occurring.”
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Possible neurological causes for dizziness and vertigo?
Dizziness can have many different causes, ranging from benign to more serious conditions. The probable neurological causes are:
- Migraines: Migraines, especially vestibular migraines, can cause one to be dizzy or vertigo in addition to the typical headache symptoms.
- Stroke or TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack): A stroke or mini-stroke (TIA) can cause sudden dizziness, often accompanied by other neurological signs such as numbness, weakness, vision problems, or difficulty speaking.
- Multiple Sclerosis: MS can affect the balance centers in the brain and lead to dizzy sensation or vertigo.
- Parkinson’s Disease: This neurodegenerative disorder can affect balance, leading to being dizzy or unsteadiness.
Vertigo on the other hand is often caused by problems within the inner ear (which controls balance) or the brain, both of which play a role in the body’s sense of spatial orientation. Here are some related neurological causes:
- Migraine-associated vertigo is a type of vertigo triggered by migraines. It may occur with or without a headache.
- A head injury, such as a concussion, can damage the inner ear or the brain structures involved in balance. This can lead to vertigo, especially if the injury involves damage to the vestibular system or brainstem.
- A stroke or TIA (mini-stroke) can cause vertigo if it affects the parts of the brain that control balance, particularly the brainstem or cerebellum.
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease where the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers (myelin), affecting the brain and spinal cord. This can disrupt the signals involved in balance.
- An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor that grows on the vestibulocochlear nerve, which connects the inner ear to the brain. As the tumor grows, it can affect both hearing and balance.
What types of diagnosis?
Diagnosing dizziness can involve a combination of careful history-taking, physical exams, balance and hearing tests, imaging, blood tests, and sometimes referrals to specialists. The specific tests chosen will depend on your symptoms, medical history, and the suspected underlying cause.
For neurological test, our Specialist may recommend the follow:
- MRI/CT of the Brain: If a neurological cause (stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor) is suspected, imaging of the brain is essential to rule out these serious conditions.
- Nerve Conduction Studies: If peripheral neuropathy or other nerve-related issues are suspected, these studies can assess how well the nerves are conducting signals.
Possible treatment methods?
Treatment for dizzy sensation and balance disorders varies depending on the diagnosis and severity. In mild cases, symptoms may go away on their own as the vestibular system heals or the body learns to adjust. Each person situation is different. Therefore personalized diagnosis and treatments is recommended.
For General treatments, they may include:
- medication
- changing your diet
- counselling
- simple home exercises
- physical therapy
- surgery, in rare cases
It’s important to seek medical attention to help determine the cause and rule out any serious conditions. Our team has the expertise and treatment to speedy recovery.
