Dizziness and the Vestibular Ocular Reflex (VOR)

There are a lot of causes of dizziness. Dizziness is a vague word though, and can be used to describe a variety of symptoms. So when a patient tells me they are dizzy, I first clarify what type of dizziness because that gives me good insight to the problem at hand. There is the room-spinning dizziness that is most commonly associated with BPPV (the crystals in the ear). Then there is light-headed dizziness which may be a blood pressure issue, amongst other things. Then there is that feeling of being “off-kilter”, or a “wooziness”. This is the type of dizziness this blog will address.

Christopher EllisFebruary 17, 2025#dizziness, #vor, #vertigoComment

Dietary Causes of Vertigo (BPPV)

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV for short, is a debilitating condition that causes severe room-spinning dizziness with changes of head position. If you’ve heard of ‘crystals being loose in the ear’, this is BPPV. It is usually called ‘idiopathic BPPV’, which simply means we don’t know the cause. Head trauma can cause it, but for many patients that deal with this, they haven’t had any trauma. Some recent research has proposed that there is likely a dietary component of this condition in the form of changes in carbohydrate metabolism.

Christopher EllisSeptember 15, 2021#dizzy, #dizziness, #insulinComment

A Cause of Dizziness - Meniere’s Disease

There are many causes of room-spinning dizziness, so it’s important to identify other symptoms to be able to correctly diagnose the cause. Meniere’s disease is characterized by room-spinning dizziness provoked with head position change and can last hours to days. It can also be accompanied with hearing loss, a sense of fullness in the ears, and ringing in the ears.

Christopher EllisJuly 30, 2021#vertigo, #dizziness, #menieresComment

Dizziness - Labyrinthitis

If you’ve had a recent bacterial or viral infection, and then become dizzy, it may be due to labyrinthitis. The inner ear has a membranous labyrinth which can become inflamed. This will usually cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, hearing loss, and ringing in the ears. The dizziness will usually be described as room spinning and can last for days.

Christopher EllisJuly 19, 2021#dizziness, #vertigo, #labyrinthitisComment

The Many Causes of Dizziness

When I have a patient that wants to know what to do about their dizziness, the first thing I want them to do is describe how it feels without saying “dizzy”. Dizzy is a blanket description that can mean anything from lightheaded to room spinning dizziness. It may sound callus, but I always hope for room spinning dizziness.

Christopher EllisJuly 6, 2021#dizziness, #vertigo, #VORhypofunction, #BPPVComment

Questions? Or do you want me to blog on a specific topic? Email me at: drchris@dpt.services

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