Making Sense of Dizziness

Dizziness is a word that is often used to describe two different feelings. For many people, they just cannot describe what their dizziness feels like to them. It is important to know exactly what you mean when you say to a physician “I feel dizzy”, because it can help narrow down the list of possible problems. It is easiest to divide dizziness into two types of sensations:
1) Lightheadedness or “wooziness” is a feeling that you are about to faint or “pass out”. Although you may feel dizzy, you do not feel as though you or your surroundings are moving. Lightheadedness often improves when one lies down.
2) Vertigo is a feeling that you or your surroundings are moving when there is no actual movement. You may feel as though you are spinning, falling, or tilting. You may have the sensation of nausea or vomiting when it is severe. Vertigo is often accompanied by hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Head movement often exacerbates it.
Lightheadedness has many causes such as allergies, infections such as the flu or diarrhea (which cause dehydration), anxiety and stress, certain medications, and the use of alcohol or tobacco, to name just a few. More serious causes of lightheadedness are abnormalities in heart rhythm or bleeding. Sometimes bleeding can be insidious and can occur over days or weeks, especially if it is coming from the digestive tract.
Vertigo occurs when there is an interruption in the normal signals that go to your brain that controls balance. Your brain uses input from vision, sensory nerves in your body, skin pressure, and the balance center in the ear to control balance and to maintain your body position and motion in relationship to gravity. When there is disease in the inner ear, vertigo can occur because false signals are sent to the brain indicating that a person is in motion when they are not. Some common causes of vertigo are benign positional vertigo (BPV- a disease where there is improper movement of calcium crystals in the inner ear), labyrinthitis (viral infection of the inner ear), migraine headache, concussion, and decreased blood flow to the back of the brain. More serious and less common causes of vertigo can be brain tumors, stroke, or multiple sclerosis.
A physician such as a neurologist or ENT can help diagnose and narrow down the causes of a patient’s dizziness. Some tests may be necessary such as an MRI of the brain, hearing testing, blood work, ultrasound testing of the carotid arteries and the heart, and a balance test called an ENG (electronystagmogram).
There are medications that are effective treatments for dizziness. A type of physical therapy known as vestibular exercises are also very effective and can be done at home, doctor’s office, or a physical therapy center.
If you would like to learn how to care for this disease or any other neurological condition, please call at 609-463-8009 or 609-653-9595. My office is conveniently located at 4 Village Drive in Cape May Court House and 160 Shore Road in Somers Point. Please visit my website at www.stzorfas.com