Diagnostics for dizziness through the ear | Dizziness triggered by the ear

Diagnostics for dizziness through the ear

The diagnosis of dizziness is usually divided into several steps.

• At the beginning, the patient concerned should describe the existing complaints and any accompanying symptoms as precisely as possible in a detailed doctor-patient consultation (anamnesis).
• The type of vertigo plays a decisive role in determining whether it is a so-called central vertigo or vertigo developing in the ear. While central disturbances of balance typically manifest themselves as a fluctuating vertigo, so-called peripheral disturbances of balance (caused, for example, by the ear) are characterized by a rotating vertigo.
• In addition, it must be clarified during this doctor-patient consultation whether the patient concerned also suffers from hearing loss and/or ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
• Furthermore, it should be determined whether the dizziness occurs only when the head or body axis is turned or whether it persists at rest.

  Dizziness caused by a sudden change of position indicates a benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Dizziness that persists even at rest may be caused by Meniere’s disease or acute hearing loss.

• Following this doctor-patient consultation, an orienting examination of the ears, nose and throat usually follows.
• The hearing performance of the patient can be roughly tested with the so-called Weber and Rinne tuning fork test (see hearing test). If the result is conspicuous, the hearing ability (air and bone conduction) should be determined more precisely by audiometry.
• Furthermore, rapid, twitching eye movements (so-called nystagmus) can be an indication of the presence of dizziness and help to narrow down the cause of the disturbance of balance.
• In some cases, further diagnostic measures, for example imaging procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging, may have to be connected afterwards.

How long does dizziness caused by the ear last?

The duration of dizziness caused by the ear depends strongly on the cause. A sudden onset of dizziness in Meniere’s disease should last only a few minutes to hours; in the case of positional vertigo, the dizziness attacks are even shorter. In contrast, an inflammation of the nerves in the inner ear tends to cause dizziness that lasts longer.