Vertigo can hit all of a sudden and knock you off your feet quickly. Dizziness and nausea are often the first symptoms of vertigo. But extreme vertigo can confuse the world to such a degree that it’s challenging to make your way from your bed to the couch.
It may be tempting to instinctively blame vertigo on a problem with the brain or eyes. This may seem reasonable because it’s your brain that makes you feel nauseous and your eyes that don’t see straight.
However, the actual source of the issue is most likely found not in your eyes but in your ears.
Your Ears Are Vital For Balance
It’s typical for people to depict vertigo as the feeling of loss of balance. Everything feels like it’s spinning even though the ground is solid. And the blame most likely lies deep within your ear, in an area unimaginatively (but accurately) called the inner ear. Both little hairs and fluid are held within the canals of the inner ears.
Based on the position of the fluid in your ears, your brain can identify the orientation of your body. Normally, this system works quite well, so you know which way is up and which way is down, no matter what direction your head is pointing.
That is, until the system malfunctions. Your brain can’t make sense of the signals when this system properly working. And that can trigger vertigo.
What Could be Causing Your Vertigo?
There could be a number of things leading to your vertigo if it’s linked to your inner ear.
Middle ear fluid: An accumulation of fluid in your middle ear can cause the entire system to go wonky and send unclear signals to your brain. An ear infection is one of several causes for this type of fluid accumulation. Sound is often muffled, like being underwater, when this is the source of your vertigo.
Dislodged middle ear crystals: You have little calcium crystals in your middle ear that help detect movement. These crystals can sometimes get displaced and go into the inner ear which can then lead to loss of balance, nausea, and vertigo. If your vertigo comes and goes for seconds at a time or when you turn your head, it’s these crystals that are the probable cause (a condition known as BPPV).
Meniere’s Disease: Both balance and hearing can be impacted by this condition. Symptoms include vertigo (and corresponding nausea), hearing loss, and possibly migraines. Your hearing specialist might be able to suggest therapies to manage the symptoms of Menier’s as it slowly progresses.
Vestibular Neuritis: You’re probably dealing with a condition called vestibular neuritis if your vertigo is continuous and severe. This occurs when the nerve in the inner ear becomes inflamed. Most experts think this inflammation is caused by something like a virus, so vestibular neuritis is normally a “self-limiting” condition. It may last for a few days or weeks and then clear up.
These four conditions aren’t the only reasons why you could be experiencing nausea or vertigo. And there are other issues you can get in your middle ear that could bring about these symptoms. But these are some very common ones and they give you some idea of how problems in your middle can affect your wellbeing.
What Can You do?
So if you’re dizzy or are experiencing vertigo, what should you do? Come in and let us help you figure it out.