What is Dizziness?
Dizziness, an unpleasant sensation like pain……. but what it is?
Dizziness is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of sensations like:
Swaying
Disequilibrium or off-balance
Vertigo (spinning)
Light-headedness or fainting
Disorientation
Feeling off-centred
Woozy or wobbly or foggy head
Eyes moving faster than the head
It is quite often a sensory mismatch between the visual and vestibular system. The visual-vestibular mismatch will create a sensory conflict causing woozy sensation.
Vertigo is a special type of dizziness where in there is an illusion of movement of the environment or surrounding. This sensation is a result of the eye movements called Nystagmus.
The complaint of dizziness is one of the most common reasons that older adults visit the doctor’s office.
Variety of systems in the body can produce dizziness:
Cardio vascular disorders
Neurological (Brain) disorders
Vestibular system
Psychogenic
Pharmacological
Cervical spine
Visual system
Among these systems, the Vestibular system contribute to up to 45% of dizziness.
Following are few of the vestibular disorders causing dizziness, vertigo and balance problems:
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo- 30%
Viral Inflammation of a vestibular nerve or Auditory nerve (Neuritis/ Labyrinthitis)- 13%
Vestibular Migraines- 2%
Age related vestibular degeneration
Meniere’s disease
Head trauma
Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (3PD)
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS)
