Dizziness

Dizziness means feeling of light-headed or the feeling of imbalance or unsteadiness. Dizziness is classified into two categories lightheadedness and vertigo. Lightheadedness is a feeling of fainting and vertigo is a feeling of spinning sensation with loss of balance.

Causes

Vertigo is often associated with inner ear problems.

The most common causes of vertigo may include:

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) – The crystals in the inner ear become dislodged and move to one of the semi-circular canals and cause irritation. It clasically causes sudden rotatory symptoms that last for seconds that occurs when turning the head in a particular position in bed or reaching to get something off a high shelf. It may be fixed by performing the Epleys manoeuvre.
• Labyrinthitis – It is an ear disorder that involves inflammation of the middle ear which commonly occurs after a viral infection.
• Meniere’s disease – It is an inner ear disorder that causes severe hearing loss, ringing in the ears and dizziness. The disease can affect one or both ears.
• Acoustic neuroma – It is a non-cancerous tumour of the ear causing ringing in the ears, hearing loss and dizziness and balance problems.
• Trauma to the inner ear
• Barotrauma causes damage to the inner ear and vertigo due to pressure changes between the middle and inner ear.