Vertigo

About 40% of adults in the United States experience vertigo during their lifetime. If you’re dizzy, nauseous, or feel like the room is spinning, vertigo may be the reason. At Delaware NeuroRehab in Newark, Dover, and Lewes, Delaware, Haresh Sampathkumar, MD, and the highly trained interdisciplinary team offer highly effective vertigo treatments that can ease unpleasant symptoms and restore your quality of life. Schedule an evaluation by calling the office or booking an appointment online today.

What is vertigo?

Vertigo is a condition that causes you to feel dizzy and like the room is spinning. It’s commonly caused by a problem with your inner ear, although other conditions can be to blame. 

Treatment with the Delaware NeuroRehab experts can eliminate vertigo and its symptoms, which are often debilitating.

Which symptoms can vertigo cause?

Vertigo can cause the following symptoms:

• Feeling like the room is spinning
• Dizziness
• Feeling off-balance
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Hearing loss in one or both ears
• Headaches
• Ringing in your ears
• Motion sickness
• Feeling of fullness in your ear

You might also experience rapid and uncontrollable side-to-side eye movement because of vertigo.

What are the risk factors for vertigo?

Vertigo can be caused by:

• Strokes
• Migraine headaches
• Diabetes
• Some medications
• Arrhythmia
• Head injury
• Ear surgery
• Shingles
• Prolonged bedrest
• Fluid leaking in your middle ear
• Rapid breathing
• Muscle weakness
• Low blood pressure
• Brain diseases
• Syphilis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Acoustic neuroma (non-cancerous tumor)
• Middle ear bone growth

When not treated, vertigo can cause you to fall, and it often interferes with your ability to work, drive, and maintain a good quality of life. 

How is vertigo diagnosed?

Diagnosing vertigo requires a discussion about your symptoms, review of your medical history, a physical exam, and diagnostic testing. 

The Delaware NeuroRehab team administers various tests that involve gentle movements to assess inner ear and central nervous system function. You might be a candidate for a CT scan, MRI, other imaging procedures, or a videonystagmography (VNG).

How is vertigo treated?

Depending on the severity of your vertigo and its underlying cause, the Delaware NeuroRehab experts may suggest one or more of the following treatments:

• Medication
• Repositioning maneuvers (specific head movements)
• Vertigo exercises (rehabilitation therapy)
• Neurorehabilitation 
• Surgery

Things you can do at home to ease symptoms include moving slowly when standing up or turning your head, sleeping with your head elevated, and sitting or lying down when you feel dizzy. 

Avoid bending over at the waist (squat down instead) and use a cane if necessary to avoid falling.

Some people have vertigo just once, while others experience recurring symptoms. The experts at Delaware NeuroRehab work with you to help prevent future vertigo episodes. 

Schedule a vertigo evaluation at Delaware NeuroRehab by calling the office or booking an appointment online today.