Vertigo Causes – A Comprehensive List (A Must Read for All)

Dr Vikram Sharma

Livefit4ever,
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Vikram Sharma,
August 16, 2022

Vertigo Causes

Even though you hold perfectly well – still experience that your surrounding things are rotating, spinning or rocking. This sort of sense of spinning is known as vertigo. There are many causes of vertigo in adults.

Is it justifiable to use the term vertigo for describing a wide range of symptoms such as light-headedness or motion sickness, walking difficulty and balance disorders?

No, says Dr. Vikram Sharma – an elite neurologist, migraine and stroke specialist from Hyderabad. According to Dr. Sharma – vertigo is a specific complaint that involves the balance centres of the inner ear and the brain.

In addition, many people use the term vertigo interchangeably with dizziness – but it is not apt to do so, asserts Dr. Sharma.

“Dizziness is a sense of feeling lightheaded with a feeling of passing out and weakness”, says Dr. Vikram.

Can a neurologist detect the causes of dizziness or vertigo?

Any specialist first of all try to understand the underlying cause of vertigo – naturally, there could be two broad possible causes of vertigo: 1. Disturbances in the inner ear 2. Problems in the balance centers of the brain. Disturbances in the inner ear can also involve problems with the nerves. For instance, a viral or flu infection can sometimes spread to the vestibular nerve that controls balance. This condition is known as Vestibular neuronitis.

A neurologist evaluates whether vertigo is due to central cause with the involvement of central nervous system – brain and the spinal cord or inner ear’s vestibular system. After a comprehensive neurological examination if the neurologist doesn’t detect any neurological cause, then he or she may refer the patient to an ENT specialist.

Let us try to understand dizziness and vertigo Causes Separately

1. Dizziness Causes

Reason for dizziness – There could be four possible reasons for dizziness, low blood sugar levels, low blood pressure, dehydration and blood circulation issues due to blood vessels problems, heart problems and neurological problems.

Causes of severe dizziness: The main cause of dizziness is reduced blood supply to the brain – it could be due to blood vessel problem, heart problem, or heart valve problem.

Causes of extreme dizziness: Blood circulation issues, brain stroke, heart failure, heart attack or cardiomyopathy, heart valve disease, and blood vessel disease.

In general Dizziness causes in adults include motion sickness, excessive exercise, heatstroke, dehydration, ear infection, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), anemia (low iron), anxiety disorders, heart muscle disease, sudden drop in blood pressure, and decrease in blood volume. These are some of the common Causes of light-headedness and dizziness in older adults. The causes of dizziness in men and women are almost similar.

Causes of constant dizziness: a brain tumour, multiple sclerosis, heart issues, and other neurological disorders can cause constant dizziness.

2. Vertigo Causes

Vertigo may be caused by disturbances of the inner ear and the balance centres of the brain.

Causes of vertigo: Broadly there are two types of vertigo causes: Central vertigo causes and Peripheral Vertigo Causes

Neurological causes of vertigo: The Central Vertigo causes associated with the central nervous system include brain stroke, auras associated with migraines, traumatic brain injury or concussion, tumours of the brain and spinal cord, blood vessels disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Stroke may cause loss of coordination and vertigo.

Is vertigo related with migraine?

Vestibular migraine causes: Surprisingly some individuals with vestibular migraine – a type of migraine may develop vertigo as a symptom. In some people, migraines can also cause vertigo. Migraine-induced vertigo can last for a few minutes to hours. In about 35 to 40% of people with migraine, dizziness or vertigo, or problems with balance are common. In some cases – a condition known as “migraine-associated vertigo is present”

Vestibular neuronitis – The inflammation of the vestibular nerve that runs into the inner ear and sends messages to the brain can cause vertigo. In this condition, the brain’s ability to control balance gets disturbed.

Why does vertigo cause headaches and dizziness?

Causes of headaches and dizziness: There are many causes of severe headaches and dizziness ranging from dehydration to brain stroke. Brain aneurysms, migraine, stroke, head injuries, traumatic head injuries, post-concussion syndrome, bacterial and viral infection, dehydration, low blood sugar, anxiety, anaemia and poor vision are the other causes of headaches and dizziness.

Peripheral Vertigo Causes

Causes of vertigo and dizziness: Some of the common causes of vertigo and dizziness are peripheral (related to internal ear and its structures).

Peripheral vertigo is due to a problem with the inner ear. The problems associated with the inner ear are some of the common causes of vertigo. The possible causes of dizziness related to inner ear include BPPV, Labyrinthitis, Meniere’s disease and Acoustic neuromas. These are some of the common causes of vertigo.

Main causes of Vertigo

Positional vertigo causes: One of the most likely or possible causes of dizziness is BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or Positional Vertigo or Benign positional vertigo.

BPPV Causes: Spontaneous inflammation of the structures of the inner ear due to dislocation or displacement of the small crystals found in the inner ear may lead to vertigo. This may be due to the irritation of the small hair cells within the semi-circular canals of the ear.

Ear infection cause vertigo

Other potential causes of dizziness related with internal ears include labyrinthitis: it involves infection of both the vestibular nerve and the cochlear nerve; vestibular neuronitis: It is the infection of the vestibular nerve only); Meniere’s disease (build-up of fluid in the inner ear) and tumours of the vestibular nerve (Acoustic neuromas).

Causes of sudden dizziness: Virus is the main cause of these types of ear infections, but bacteria from middle ear infection can go into inner ear and cause dizziness – which is sudden. Symptoms may include hearing difficulty, fever, ear pain, nausea and ringing in ears. Middle-ear and inner ear infections are the prominent causes of vertigo and nausea.

Constant dizziness may be a symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia or low levels of iron (anaemia). You may also have other symptoms such as pale skin, weakness and fatigue.

What causes an occasional brief sensation of dizziness that lasts a few seconds?

Sudden Dizziness due to drop in blood pressure: You may feel this condition due to dramatic drop in your blood pressure. The symptoms may include a brief episode of a feeling of faintness or light-headedness. This condition is known as orthostatic hypotension.

Cause of vertigo in elderly

One of the prominent causes of dizziness in the elderly is peripheral vestibular dysfunction. It is in fact the most frequent one. The number one vestibular cause of vertigo in the elderly is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo followed by Meniere’s disease.

Causes of vertigo in women

Diabetes, migraine, low blood pressure, low blood sugar levels, iron deficiency anaemia, and pregnancy are some of the common causes of vertigo in women.

Causes of vertigo at night

This could potentially be due to positional vertigo or BPPV or problem with your internal ear. This type of vertigo becomes worse at night especially when the person lies on one side. The best way to avoid the vertigo from getting worse is to sleep on the other side and avoid rolling down to the other side during night.

Sudden vertigo causes

Another reason for the sudden cause of vertigo is hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar levels. This is a common problem in diabetic patients who use insulin. They develop light-headedness – which is accompanied by anxiety and sweating. Dizziness and Nausea, fatigue, weakness, shaking, hunger, pale or clammy skin are the causes of low blood sugar levels.

Causes of vertigo and vomiting

Labyrinthitis causes vertigo which may be associated with tinnitus, hearing loss, nausea and vomiting. In addition, stomach upset, weakness, headache, dizziness, confusion, chest pain, nausea and vomiting are flu-like symptoms that are due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Can Dehydration cause dizziness?

Yes, dehydration can cause light-headedness or dizziness. If you don’t drink enough water and work outdoors, you may get overheated. Without enough or adequate fluids, your blood volume goes down causing drop in blood pressure and depriving your brain of enough blood and oxygen. This condition may lead to light-headedness or dizziness.

Can stress cause vertigo?

Stress cause dizziness: Dr. Vikram Sharma – a renowned stroke specialist from Hyderabad says – “Stress can make vertigo worse, but there is no link with stress and vertigo.” Therefore, a person living under severe stressful condition may be at an increased risk of stroke – which may cause vertigo but not vice versa.

Can anxiety cause dizziness?

Anxiety cause dizziness: You may get a woozy feeling or lightheadedness due to certain anxiety disorders. It may be referred to us dizziness. Some people have a fear of being in large open spaces (agoraphobia) and panic attacks.

Can medicines cause vertigo?

Yes, of course, certain medications can cause vertigo as their side effect. For instance, certain medicines used to treat depression (antidepressants), blood pressure medicines, antiseizure medicines and even aspirin can cause vertigo. Even excess alcohol consumption can cause vertigo in some people.

What are the causes of shortness of breath, dizziness, heaviness of the chest, and constant headaches?

Let Us Understand!

Poor blood circulation can cause shortness of breath, dizziness, heaviness or chest and constant headaches. Congestive heart failure, transient ischemic attack, heart arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), heart attack or cardiomyopathy can cause these symptoms. Inadequate blood flow to the brain and the vestibular system (inner ear), can cause vertigo.

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