If your world is being thrown off balance by vertigo, you know that the dizziness, loss of balance, nausea, and other symptoms can wreak havoc on your day-to-day life. The good news is that effective vertigo treatments exist.
At Jacksonville ENT Surgery in Lake City and Jacksonville, Florida, our board-certified ENT providers, Charles Greene, MD, PhD, and Tara Condrey, PA-C, specialize in diagnosing and treating vertigo.
For some patients, vertigo resolves over time on its own without the need for medication or other treatment. For other patients, our providers may recommend one or a combination of vertigo therapies, including options such as:
The right treatment for your vertigo depends on the type of vertigo you have: peripheral vertigo or central vertigo. Take a moment to learn more about vertigo and the difference between the two types.
Many people think feeling dizzy means they have vertigo. But dizziness and vertigo aren’t the same. Many conditions can trigger dizziness, from not eating enough to pregnancy. Vertigo is a symptom of a specific underlying condition.
When you have vertigo, you feel like the world is spinning while you’re not moving. This can make you feel dizzy, but it can also cause other symptoms, including:
Symptoms can range from mild to severe and can differ depending on the type of vertigo you have: central or peripheral. In addition, symptoms vary in how long they last. For some people, they may resolve in minutes while for others they can last months.
Vertigo can be caused by different conditions. One involves communication problems between your brain’s visual, sensory, and vestibular (balance) systems. The other involves damage to the part of the brain associated with movement. Here’s a closer look:
If you experience an injury or have a condition that causes damage to the parts of your brain linked to the central nervous system and movement, you can develop central vertigo as a result. This type of vertigo is less common and is often associated with issues such as concussions, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and migraine.
Central vertigo is characterized by symptoms that last much longer than those caused by peripheral vertigo. It may also be accompanied by other brain-related symptoms, like trouble with speech, weakness, or tingling/numbness.
Peripheral vertigo, on the other hand, is caused when you have a problem in your inner ear or the nerve linked to your inner ear, which are part of your vestibular system. The vestibular system helps control motion as well as your sense of space and balance.
When this system is disrupted, faulty signals are sent to your brain, affecting your balance and sense of motion. One of the most common causes of peripheral vertigo is the development of calcium crystals in the inner ear. This is called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
Other causes of peripheral vertigo include:
When you have peripheral vertigo, symptoms typically last for a shorter period of time compared to central vertigo.
If you’re struggling with vertigo, get the help you need by scheduling an appointment online or by calling Jacksonville ENT Surgery in Lake City and Jacksonville, Florida.
