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Inner Ear 'Rock Slides' Lead To Vertigo

Experts who treat dizziness estimate that about 20 percent of all dizziness is due to loose crystals — or ear rocks — in the inner ear. The condition, known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is usually treated with a series of simple head movements aimed at putting dislodged ear rocks back where they came from so they can be cleared away by the immune system. BPPV can be triggered by a head injury or a virus. The condition is more common in older adults.

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 BPPV Treatment for Vertigo

If you’re dealing with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), two exercises can really help ease your symptoms: the Epley maneuver and the newer Half Somersault maneuver. Both techniques are designed to help move those pesky displaced crystals in your inner ear, providing relief from dizziness and vertigo. Let’s dive into how these maneuvers work, when to use them, and how to perform them safely.

Articles of Interest

ED Mx of vertigo and BPV

All vertigo is made worse by moving the head. If vertigo lasts < 1 minute after moving the head, this suggests BPV.

Tricks of Trade: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

BPPV should be differentiated from central vertigo and other types of peripheral vertigo including Meniere’s disease, vestibular schwannoma, vestibular neuritis, and labyrinthitis among others

Posterior Canal BPPV

Posterior canal BPPV is the most common form of BPPV. This condition is caused by otoconia (also known as canaliths, crystals or rocks) and is characterized by brief (10-15 seconds) vertigo associated with changes in head position. Changes in head position typically include laying back in bed, rolling over in bed, sitting up, looking up or down. This condition is easily cured over 90% of the time with a specific canalith repositioning maneuver (CRM). In this case, the modified Epley maneuver is commonly used. The Semont maneuver is an excellent alternative.

Benign positional vertigo, its diagnosis, treatment and mimics

The diagnosis of benign positional vertigo (BPV) relies on a history of episodic positional vertigo and a distinctive pattern of nystagmus during provocative positional testing.

Clinical diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and vestibular neuritis

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common cause of vertigo. It is characterized by brief (typically 20–30 s and < 2 min) episodes of vertigo started by changes in head position such as getting in or out of bed, turning over in bed, bending forward or tilting the head backward. If the patient remains still, the intense vertigo sensation ceases. Although older adults are most frequently affected, it can occur in all ages including the pediatric population.

Diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in Emergency Department: Our experience

The BPPV is diagnosable by observing the nystagmus that is generated in the patient following the Dix-Hallpike maneuver used for BPPV diagnosis of vertical semi-circular canal,

New views on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common vestibular peripheral disease, and has increasingly become the focus of research on vertigo diseases in recent years. In particular, otolaryngology and neurology societies worldwide have placed a greater focus on the study of BPPV.

Stephen Colbert Reveals Benign Positional Vertigo Diagnosis, What Is BPV?

BPV is otherwise known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), in case you want to insert another word into the name or another letter into the acronym. With the condition, you will periodically feel as if either you are spinning or the world is spinning for anywhere from a few seconds to several minute

Wakeup Call: Hitting the Wall

I've been waking up early this spring. Like 4 AM early. So it was no biggie when I opened my eyes in my hotel room in Hendersonville, NC at 4:45 AM on Sunday, April 29. What was a big deal was seeing the ceiling moving.

Resources

DizzyFIX

DizzyFIX is an effective and natural treatment for vertigo and dizziness due to BPPV. The DizzyFIX interactively guides you through a particle repositioning maneuver. This maneuver helps you treat the most common cause of vertigo called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or "BPPV". The maneuver cures vertigo and dizziness in 88% of patients with just 1 treatment.

Epley Maneuver

Treatment with the Epley Manoeuvre is an effective method of treatment for cases of BPPV. Everyone in the ED must know how to do this.

Dizziness-and-Balance.com

In Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) dizziness is thought to be due to debris which has collected within a part of the inner ear. This debris can be thought of as "ear rocks", although the formal name is "otoconia". Ear rocks are small crystals of calcium carbonate derived from a structure in the ear called the "utricle".

Half Somersault Maneuver

My vertigo has not returned since I did this maneuver. Hallelujah - Carla Lokelani Forrest.

Body & Brain Centre

Typically people wake up with BPPV. They roll over to get out of bed. Boom. The spinning starts. It’s intense. Maybe you feel sick to the stomach.

ENTnet.org

There are crystals of calcium carbonate that are a normal part of our inner ear and help us with our balance and body motion. These tiny rocklike crystals or “otoconia” (oh-toe-cone-ee-uh) are settled in the center “pouch” of the inner ear. BPPV is caused by the crystals becoming “unglued” from their normal place.

Patient

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo which is experienced as the illusion of movement. Symptoms are due to inner ear dysfunction. Otoliths become detached from the macula (the utricle-based receptor for detecting head position and movement) into the semicircular canals. These are affected differentially due to anatomy: Posterior semicircular canal - 85-95% of patients.

ScienceDirect

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a mechanical vestibular problem caused by displaced otoconia in the inner ear as a result of trauma or age.

StatPearls

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of peripheral vertigo, accounting for over half of all cases.