Systematic vertigo

Systematic dizziness is the dizziness that can be caused by diseases or problems in the vestibular organ, the brain stem or parts of the cerebellum. This dizziness is usually accompanied by the feeling that the world revolves around you.

Unsystematic vertigo

With this type of vertigo, the problem lies outside the organ of balance of the ear. The patients feel uncomfortable and may also feel dizzy.

Rotational vertigo

Rotational vertigo can occur as a sudden attack or as a longer lasting symptom. This is why rotary vertigo is also called attack vertigo. It usually lasts only a few seconds or at most a few minutes.

At this moment the patient has the impression that the surroundings are spinning. The direction of the rotation vertigo can be counter-clockwise or clockwise. In addition to the very unpleasant dizziness, nausea and vomiting can also occur.

Frequently, the eyes also show an involuntary movement against or with the direction of rotation. This is called a nystagmus, a rhythmic restoring movement of the eyes. A nystagmus can provide additional information about the cause of dizziness.

One of the most common causes of vertigo is Meniere’s disease.Meniere’s disease is a disease of the inner ear. The actual cause of the disease has not yet been clarified exactly, but it is suspected that the outflow of the endolymph is obstructed. This disorder leads to an increased accumulation of fluid in the endolymphatic space.

In addition to the increase in pressure in the inner ear caused by the increase in volume, a change in the composition of the endolymph results in excitation of the auditory nerve. This in turn leads to the feeling of dizziness. In younger patients, rotary vertigo can also be associated with migraine.

Positional vertigo

Another form of vertigo is the positional vertigo. This is also a type of vertigo that sets in as soon as the position, especially of the head and upper body, is changed. The dizziness often lasts only a short time.

In most cases, the symptoms disappear again when the change of position is completed and the body is held still again. This dizziness is also called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, where benigner stands for benign and paroxysmal for sudden onset. In general, this dizziness is also harmless, but very unpleasant for the affected patients.

The disease most frequently occurs between the ages of 50 and 60. It is more likely to affect older people. In the inner ear, the organ of equilibrium consists of three differently aligned archways.

In the archways, the ear stones are located on a gelatinous fluid, the so-called cupula. They are called otoliths. These are small crystals that play an important role in the deflection of the gelatinous dome and the resulting excitation of the hair cells.

Due to various causes, for example advanced age, these otoliths can detach themselves from their original movement. If the position of the head is changed, the position of the archways also changes and the free ear stones slide to their lowest point. In the process, the fluid in the archways is moved, which in turn causes the hair cells connected to them to be deflected as well.

They then transmit faulty excitations to the brain. Thus, when the position of the otoliths is changed, the change in position of the otoliths is also provoked and a feeling of dizziness often reoccurs. It is not yet clear exactly why ear stones become detached in old age. Possible causes can be inflammation in the inner ear, traumatic accidents, sports injuries or injuries to the head. Similarly to the vertigo, charge vertigo is caused by a rotational movement of the environment.