Balance disturbance and dizziness

Introduction

Vertigo is caused by an imbalance in the interaction of the individual sensory modalities involved in a regular orientation in space. During a vertigo attack, the affected person has the sensation Causes of imbalances and dizziness are very different and sometimes difficult to recognize. They are often accompanied by headaches, nausea, fatigue, visual or hearing problems and lead to a high level of suffering among those affected.

It is important for the therapy to differentiate exactly what the cause of the dizziness is. Possible causes are, for example, too high or too low blood pressure, neurological diseases such as meningitis, migraine, tumors or strokes in the cerebellum, but also ear or eye diseases.

  • The environment revolves around him,
  • His body would fall,
  • Raise or lower yourself.

Rotational vertigo is caused in the inner ear (vestibular).

This dizziness usually lasts from minutes to hours and is accompanied by vegetative symptoms such as tinnitus and hypacusis. This clinical picture is summarized under the name Menière’s disease. The exact cause of this disease has not yet been clarified.

In principle, the dizziness can be caused by diseases of the ear. The affected patients suffer from a resorption disorder of the endolymph in the semicircular canal. Due to the increase in volume, the membrane between the endolymphatic and the perilymphatic space ruptures repeatedly.

Since the endolymph is very rich in potassium, which also flows through the rupture of the membrane into the perilymphatic space, temporary potassium intoxications occur, which lead to the triggering of sensitive stimuli in an arcade and thus cause dizziness.

  • Nausea,
  • Nausea and a
  • “miserable” feeling (nausea complex).

In 80-90% of cases, attacks no longer occur after 5-10 years of recurrent dizziness. The disease stops spontaneously.

However, Meniere’s disease cannot be treated curatively, only symptomatic therapies are possible to relieve the symptoms during the attack. Inflammation of the vestibular nerve (auditory and vestibular nerve) can also cause rotational vertigo. This often occurs relatively suddenly and lasts for several days.

The cause is often a viral infection, which heals after a few days with physical therapy, which also stops the dizziness. One speaks of benign (benign) paroxysmal positioning vertigo when: This form of vertigo is caused by small otolithic particles which become loose in the semicircular canals and lead to deflection of the sensory cells when changing position. Thus, when the head changes position, the otoliths slip around in the archways and cause the dizziness.

Diagnosis and therapy are carried out by means of specific positioning maneuvers. This is intended to wash the otoliths back into the utricle and thus remove them from the actual sensory cells. Circulatory disturbances of the brain stem can also lead to recurrent rotational vertigo.

Especially elderly patients with accompanying symptoms such as: should be examined immediately, as a brain stem infarction may be present. Both the dizziness and the associated disturbance of balance often occur with increasing age. For this reason, we recommend that you also read the following article: Dizziness in old age

  • Antiemetics (suppress vomiting) and
  • Sedatives (tranquilizers)
  • Vertigo occurs very suddenly,
  • A few seconds and
  • Occurs only when the head changes position.
  • Double vision,
  • Tilt of fall and
  • Nausea