Dizziness & balance
Vertigo, lightheadedness, and unsteadiness — often coming from the inner ear, and often treatable once you know which part.
What people mean by “dizzy”
“Dizziness” covers several distinct sensations. Vertigo is a spinning sensation. Pre-syncope is feeling about to faint. Disequilibrium is feeling unsteady on your feet. Lightheadednessis harder to describe. Each points at a different mechanism, and the assessment is built around telling them apart.
Common causes
- · Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
- · Vestibular neuritis / labyrinthitis
- · Ménière's disease
- · Vestibular migraine
- · Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD)
How we assess
A vestibular workup combines a careful history with videonystagmography (VNG), caloric testing, positional testing (Dix-Hallpike, supine roll), video Head-Impulse Test (vHIT), Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA), Electrocochleography (ECochG), and Cervical and Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP). Where treatment is needed we also offer Vestibular Rehabilitation. Findings are written up and sent back to your referring doctor.