There are many common vertigo symptoms, that are related to vestibular disorders. Examples are nausea, vomiting, nystagmus, dizziness and feeling lightheaded. Symptoms can range from small episodes, where you may experience them only once or twice a day, to constant occurrences, where symptoms may always be present.

Common Vertigo Symptoms

Here are some of the most common symptoms experienced by vertigo sufferers:

• Feeling “spaced out”
• A lack of balance
• Poor coordination
• Brain fog and trouble thinking
• Dizziness and feeling as if your surroundings are moving
• Vomiting and nausea
• Chest pains and shortness of breath
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Blurry or double vision
• Headaches and migraines

Finding The Root Cause

It’s imperative to discover the root cause of your vertigo or any symptoms that you may be experiencing. Seeing your doctor should be a first priority, where they can examine your condition. They will be able to help in discovering the cause to your symptoms, which could be due to many different factors. These can include stroke, head trauma, stress, anxiety, ear infections, medications, allergies and past surgeries.

Be sure to inform your doctor of your medical history as this will assist in finding the cause behind your vertigo.

Diagnosing Vertigo

The following are several methods that can be used for finding the root cause for vertigo:

Head maneuvers

Various head movements and positions, such as the epley or dix-hallpike maneuver can be performed. These can determine if your vertigo is due to conditions such as BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo).

Balance tests

Various balance exercises can be performed to find out if you may be suffering from a vestibular disorder, or if poor balance may be contributing to sensations of vertigo.

Vestibular exercises

Gaze stabilisation exercises may be used to check how well your eyes and head are communicating with each other.

Hearing tests

If symptoms such as tinnitus are present, hearing tests can be performed to ensure the auditory nerve and mechanics of the ear are functioning properly.

CT & MRI scans

To make sure that there’s nothing neurologically wrong, and that the brain is operating correctly.

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