Balance & vertigo.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you're spinning, or that the inside of your head is spinning.

Episodes occur when you move your head or get out of bed in a particular way.

One treatment for BPPV is called the Canalith-Repositioning Maneuver. It's a series of head movements that move displaced calcium crystals out of the semi-circular canals within the inner ear.

This form of dizziness treatment can be more effective than medication or other forms of exercise-based therapy. Symptoms can resolve after 1–2 sessions for most patients.

For most dizzy patients, an otologist or physician will use medical history combined with diagnostic tests to rule out non-ear-related dizziness.

Once other medical causes have been excluded, an audiologist can perform special tests to help determine the cause and the treatment needed.

Recommendations may include vestibular rehabilitation — a series of exercises or maneuvers designed to improve balance and reduce complaints of dizziness.

Videonystagmography (VNG): evaluates the function of the vestibular portion of the inner ear. Eye movements are measured while the inner ear is stimulated through eye movement, head movement, body position, or temperature.

Otoacoustic Emissions: evaluates the function of the inner ear — confirming function without measuring hearing amount.

A complete dizzy assessment takes about two hours. The test is painless, but you may feel dizzy or nauseated for some time afterward, so plan accordingly.