Vertigo & Dizziness

Vertigo is the feeling that you or the room is spinning. It usually comes from the inner ear, which helps control balance. The most common cause, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), brings short spells of spinning when you turn your head or roll over in bed. Inner-ear inflammation (labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis) and Ménière's disease are other causes. Most vertigo is not dangerous, but it can be miserable.

A provider asks when the spinning started and what sets it off, then checks your ears, eye movements, balance and nerves, looking for anything that points away from the inner ear. For BPPV, a repositioning maneuver done in the exam room can stop the spinning, and you'll be shown exercises to do at home. Short-term medicine for nausea and dizziness may be prescribed. If anything suggests a stroke or another cause outside the ear, we'll send you to the emergency room.

Come in for new spinning or dizziness, spells that keep coming back, or vertigo with nausea that makes it hard to keep fluids down. Call 911 for vertigo with any stroke sign, especially if you are over 50 or have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.