1. Balance Disorders Slideshow
2. Take the Vertigo Quiz
3. Tinnitus Slideshow: Why Are My Ears Ringing?

Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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In this Article

• Vertigo introduction
• What is vertigo?
• What are the causes of vertigo?
• What are the symptoms of vertigo?
• Who is vertigo diagnosed?
• How is vertigo treated?
• Can I treat vertigo at home, and can vertigo be prevented?
• Vertigo At A Glance
• Balance Disorders - Slideshow
• Take the Vertigo Quiz
• Tinnitus: Why Are My Ears Ringing? - Slideshow
• Vertigo and Balance Disorders FAQs
• Patient Comments: Vertigo - Treatments
• Patient Comments: Vertigo - Cause
• Patient Comments: Vertigo - Symptoms
• Find a local Ear, Nose, & Throat Doctor in your town
• Vertigo Index

• Vertigo describes the sensation of the patient or the room spinning. It may be associated with intense nausea and vomiting.
  
  
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common reason to develop vertigo but it is often uncertain what might cause BPPV.
  
  
• Diagnosis of vertigo is usually made after the health care practitioner performs a history and physical examination. It is important to consider a central problem with the brain as a potential cause.
  
  
• BPPV and labyrinthitis are treated with Epley maneuvers to clear debris that causes inflammation from the semicircular canals of the inner ear.
  
  
• People with vertigo or that have multiple episodes of vertigo should not drive or do other activities that would endanger themselves or others.

RERENCES:

eMedicine.com. Dizziness, Vertigo, and Imbalance.
<http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1159385-overview>

Goldman L. et al. Textbook of Medicine 23rd edition. Saunders Elsevier 2008