The Dizzy Patient Every week I see five or six patients whose primary complaint is dizziness. Dizziness could mean vertigo (a sense of spinning), lightheadedness, a feeling that one is about to faint, or even headache to some people. I spend most of the visit with the dizzy patient trying to better define the symptoms so I can better understand where the problem may lie. The problem could be a systemic problem in which the nervous system is just an innocent bystander, a medication effect, inner ear problems, cranial nerve injury, or an effect of dysfunction within the brain itself in any of a dozen different locations. Luckily, there are a few disorders that account for 90% of the cases of dizziness that I see. I'll be adding resources, links to websites and articles about these most common causes of dizziness over the next several years. Benign Positional Vertigo This is one of the most common conditions causing vertigo. The typical story is, "I woke up this morning, turned over in bed and the world went spinning. It stopped after a few minutes but whenever I moved my head it would start over." This can be diagnosed by a maneuver called the Dix-Hallpike test where we move your head about in several directions. It can also be fixed in the office with a procedure called the Epley maneuver. After we do the Epley maneuver I usually instruct folks in how to repeat a modified version of this at home and give some other general instructions. To see the maneuvers and instructions I give to patients, go to this website: Benign Positional Vertigo Return to Diseases

The Dizzy Patient

Every week I see five or six patients whose primary complaint is dizziness. Dizziness could mean vertigo (a sense of spinning), lightheadedness, a feeling that one is about to faint, or even headache to some people. I spend most of the visit with the dizzy patient trying to better define the symptoms so I can better understand where the problem may lie. The problem could be a systemic problem in which the nervous system is just an innocent bystander, a medication effect, inner ear problems, cranial nerve injury, or an effect of dysfunction within the brain itself in any of a dozen different locations.

Luckily, there are a few disorders that account for 90% of the cases of dizziness that I see. I'll be adding resources, links to websites and articles about these most common causes of dizziness over the next several years.

Benign Positional Vertigo

This is one of the most common conditions causing vertigo. The typical story is, "I woke up this morning, turned over in bed and the world went spinning. It stopped after a few minutes but whenever I moved my head it would start over."

This can be diagnosed by a maneuver called the Dix-Hallpike test where we move your head about in several directions. It can also be fixed in the office with a procedure called the Epley maneuver. After we do the Epley maneuver I usually instruct folks in how to repeat a modified version of this at home and give some other general instructions.

To see the maneuvers and instructions I give to patients, go to this website:

Benign Positional Vertigo

Return to Diseases