A bit of dizziness now and then is rarely much to worry about. It’s a symptom of many conditions, and it can happen when you simply get up too quickly.
When vertigo becomes a frequent companion, the problem changes scope. Your risk of falling may increase, nausea and vomiting might accompany the dizziness, and your vision can sometimes suffer, too.
The team at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates regularly treats benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of dizziness and vertigo, particularly in patients over 50, though BPPV can affect people of any age.
Though some of its effects may increase your risk of injury, BPPV itself isn’t a serious condition, and it’s easy to treat. It’s often caused by a simple migration of calcium particles through the inner ear, and four simple exercises are frequently used to reset your balance and banish vertigo.
The trigger for a vertigo episode is almost always a change of your head’s position, such as when you stand up or lie down, or when you tilt your head in certain ways. These changes stir up calcium carbonate particles that are a part of your inner ear vestibular system.
These particles normally reside in the utricle, a chamber next to the inner ear’s semicircular canals. These canals sense the motion and position of your head by detecting fluid movement inside by way of tiny hairs called cilia.
As your head moves, this fluid causes cilia to wave back and forth, producing tiny electrical signals that your brain uses to orient itself in space, giving you your sense of balance. When calcium particles escape the utricle into the semicircular canals, the motion of the particles disrupts the operation of the cilia.
Dizziness and vertigo result from this condition, since your brain receives signals from the inner ear that don’t agree with your eyes and other position sensors throughout your body. Fortunately, it’s possible to return calcium carbonate to the utricle.
Visit us at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates if this is your first experience with vertigo. We rule out other conditions and confirm that BPPV is the cause of your episodes.
We then return the wayward calcium particles using one or more exercises or maneuvers that move your head through slow and gentle movements to guide calcium back to the utricle. These exercises include:
Each exercise has deliberate motions that help calcium settle back into the utricle.
The Epley maneuver is perhaps the most common, with motions starting from a sitting-down position and changing to a quick, pillow-supported lie-down on your back before sitting up again. You move your head in different ways through each stage, depending on which ear you’re adjusting.
Repeating the Epley maneuver three times each night before bed helps to settle calcium crystals. Repeat every night until you have no vertigo episodes for at least 24 hours.
Brandt-Daroff exercises are similar, using different head movements and lying on your side, repeating on each side. You have a greater number of repetitions as well.
The Semont maneuver is similar to Brandt-Daroff but performed more quickly, with the same repetitions as Epley. Some patients find the Foster maneuver easier to follow, but it requires kneeling, leaning forward, and standing, making it more difficult for the elderly.
Your ear, nose, and throat specialist at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates determines the exercise that best suits your condition, giving you the full outline of its routine. After that, you’re free to use the maneuvers at home as needed.
Call or click to request your appointment at our Lawrence or Ottawa offices today.
