Types of Vertigo: Peripheral, Central, BPPV, and More.
Key points about labyrinthitis
Labyrinthitis often results from a viral infection of the eighth cranial nerve or the labyrinth. Symptoms include vertigo, hearing loss, and dizziness. Symptoms may start suddenly and go away in a few weeks.
Though vertigo attacks can feel scary, they go away quickly most of the time. If you experience severe or prolonged vertigo, your symptoms could indicate another medical condition. Vertigo can interfere with your quality of life and hinder your ability to do the things you want.
Generally, see your doctor if you experience any recurrent, sudden, severe, or prolonged and unexplained dizziness or vertigo. Get emergency medical care if you experience new, severe dizziness or vertigo along with any of the following: Sudden, severe headache. Chest pain.
Sit or lie down immediately when you feel dizzy. Lie still with your eyes closed in a darkened room if you're experiencing a severe episode of vertigo. Avoid driving a car or operating heavy machinery if you experience frequent dizziness without warning. Avoid using caffeine, alcohol, salt and tobacco.
If you experience dizzy spells or the sensation of feeling off-balance, you may have vertigo without knowing. However, if the world around you is spinning while you're sitting still, it could point to a more serious condition.
Although vertigo usually starts with a condition in the inner ear, stress and anxiety can make it worse. Chronic stress or worry can also lead to more episodes of vertigo in the future. In stress-related vertigo, using strategies for both the body and the mind is the best way to regain your sense of balance.
SARS-CoV-2 chiefly affects the respiratory system, but neurological manifestations have also been widely reported. These include anosmia, headaches, dizziness, vertigo, encephalopathy, encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningitis, and stroke [2].
Initial onset of dizziness can vary between each person. Symptoms like "room spinning" dizziness (vertigo)—which is often associated with a spontaneous, single, sudden attack lasting several minutes to hours—typically occur within the first week of getting COVID-19.
Up to 1 in 5 people experience COVID-related dizziness when they're sick. COVID can also cause vertigo and trigger POTS (postural tachycardia syndrome). COVID dizziness can take weeks to months to fully resolve.
Vertigo itself is not technically an anxiety symptom, but dizziness - which is often confused with the idea of vertigo - very much is, and it's actually a surprisingly common one.
Central vertigo is due to a problem in the brain, usually in the brain stem or the back part of the brain (cerebellum). Central vertigo may be caused by: Blood vessel disease. Certain drugs, such as anticonvulsants, aspirin, and alcohol.
If you're dehydrated, you may start to feel dizzy. This feeling can cause you to also experience lightheadedness, wooziness, fairness and unsteadiness. You may also experience a very specific form of dizziness called vertigo.
Vertigo could also affect your ability to drive. You should avoid driving if you've recently had episodes of vertigo and there's a chance you may have another episode while you're driving.
Vertigo is commonly caused by a problem with the way balance works in the inner ear, although it can also be caused by problems in certain parts of the brain. Causes of vertigo may include: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) – where certain head movements trigger vertigo. migraines – severe headaches.
A common misperception is that “vertigo” is equivalent to any type of dizziness, when in fact it is a specific type of dizziness characterized by a sense of spinning or movement of the world around you when there is no actual movement.
“In rare cases, people who experience debilitating vertigo might need surgery, but I find that lying down in the dark, avoiding lights, TVs, and other distractions, and just getting some rest can ease my symptoms,” she said.
Foods that are rich in amino acid tyramine include red wine, smoked meats, chicken liver, chocolate, yogurt, citrus fruits, bananas, figs, nuts and ripened cheeses. All these foods can trigger vertigo. Tyramine results in blood vessel dilatation that triggers migraine, which can lead to vertigo.
Acute vertigo is best treated with nonspecific medication such as dimenhydrinate (Dramamine®) and meclizine (Bonine®).