There are several different causes of peripheral vertigo, including the following:īenign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) Certain conditions that cause vertigo can also trigger other symptoms, including tinnitus (ringing in your ears), hearing loss and a raised temperature.
Central vertigo, on the other hand, is caused by a problem in a certain part of the brain. Peripheral vertigo – the most common type – is often caused by a problem with the balance system in the inner ear. There are two types of vertigo – peripheral vertigo and central vertigo. According to the Brain and Spine Foundation, this explains why people who have lost the function of both inner ears may not entirely lose their sense of balance (i). While the workings of the inner ear play a significant role in vertigo, other things are important for your sense of balance too, including your vision and position detectors in your joints and muscles. This explains why you may experience balance difficulties and dizziness if you have a problem with your vestibular system: your brain may lose its ability to calculate the direction, speed or angle of your head movements, and it may think that your head moving when it’s still. These contain fluid and tiny hairs that detect head movement and send signals along the vestibular nerve to your brain, which calculates the direction and speed of the movement. Also called the labyrinth, the inner ear lies deep within bones in the skull and consists of the cochlea – which is responsible for hearing – and the vestibular organ, which is responsible for your balance (you have two vestibular organs – one in each ear – that work together and are often referred to as the vestibular system).Įach vestibular organ consists of three narrow tubes called the semicircular canals, which are attached to two small pouches called the utricle and saccule. Your sense of balance comes from the workings of your inner ears. It can last for anything from a few seconds to several days, and can develop suddenly.Īccording to the NHS, vertigo is commonly caused by a problem with the way balance works in the inner ear (though it can also be caused by problems in some parts of the brain) (ii). Others may have much more severe vertigo that affects their ability to do everyday tasks.
Some people experience very mild vertigo, where the sensation of dizziness is hardly noticeable. And other symptoms that are associated with it include nausea, vomiting and loss of balance. Vertigo also isn’t a medical condition either, but a symptom of another condition or cause (according to the Brain and Spine Foundation you could think of dizziness and vertigo like a cough, which can be a symptom of several different possible conditions or causes (i)). Vertigo isn’t a fear of heights – though you may experience the type of dizziness associated with vertigo if you look down from a great height (the correct name for a fear of heights is acrophobia). But when you feel that everything around you is moving or spinning – when you’re standing still – it’s a specific type of dizziness called vertigo. We can all feel a little bit dizzy from time to time.
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