Information on Dizziness and Vertigo

Vertigo, a Latin term meaning "to turn", is characterised by a sensation of momentary movement of oneself or one's surroundings. Vertigo, also commonly referred to as dizziness, is not a disease, but rather a symptom and often occurs as a symptom of other health problems such as inner ear diseases. This symptom can often be accompanied by additional symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sweating and palpitations.

What are the Causes of Vertigo?

Vertigo is commonly associated with diseases of the inner ear, the organ of hearing and balance, but diseases of the brain and other parts of the body that are involved in balance can also cause dizziness. The most common causes may be:

1. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (Displacement of inner ear crystals)
2. Vestibular neuritis (virus disease or catarrh of the balance nerve)
3. Migraine Vertigo or Vestibular Migraine (the type of migraine that affects the balance system)
4. Meniere's Disease (inner ear pressure problem)
5. Vestibulopathy (inner ear and/or balance nerve disorder)
6. Cerebrovascular Event (Brain haemorrhage)
7. Labyrinthitis (inner ear infection)
8. Side effects of various drugs (such as streptomycin, gentamicin, chemotherapy drugs)
9. Alcohol Use (Alcohol can change the balance system by affecting the inner ear fluids)
10. Acoustic Tumour

How is Vertigo Diagnosed?

Patients presenting with dizziness should be evaluated in detail, because the patient's history and complaints can provide important clues about the diagnosis. This is followed by an otolaryngological and neurological examination. Based on the results obtained, objective and functional examinations are performed. These examinations are used to definitively diagnose the diseases that cause dizziness and can range from simple office tests to comprehensive blood tests, high-tech vestibular tests and imaging methods.

These examinations include the following:

- Vestibular and audiological evaluation tests
- Videonystagmography (VNG)
- Video head impulse testing (VEMP)
- Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP)
- Posturography
- Audiometry
- Acoustic impedancemetry
- Otoacoustic emission (OAE)
- Auditory Brain Response (ABR)
- Imaging methods
- Doppler Ultrasonography
- Computed tomography
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Functional MR imaging

How is Vertigo Treated?

The treatment of vertigo may vary depending on the root cause, but vestibular rehabilitation is a commonly used method of treating vertigo due to inner ear diseases. Vestibular rehabilitation is often successfully applied in patients with common inner ear diseases such as positional vertigo.

Vestibular rehabilitation is not limited to short-term manoeuvres, but also includes a programme aimed at improving the patient's long-term balance health. However, in some cases, the cause of vertigo may not be fully identified, and in this case, vestibular rehabilitation treatment can be applied based on clinical diagnoses.

Therapeutic manoeuvres and vestibular rehabilitation are the main methods of treatment of vertigo. Drug therapy and surgical interventions are used in a limited way, only for specific cases.