Dizziness and Imbalance

You should schedule an appointment with a doctor if your dizziness is severe, prolonged, recurrent, accompanied by hearing changes, or unexplained. .

It may be difficult to determine if your dizziness is caused by exclusively by an inner ear problem,. Vertigo (i.e., the sense of movement or spinning in the absence of physical movement), may either be caused by the inner ear, the brain (e.g., atypical variants of a migraine, cardiac conditions, etc.), or possibly a combination of both. A common complaint of dizziness related to an inner ear problem includes vertigo, which may be caused by certain head motions or sudden positional changes. Complaints such as lightheadedness, unsteadiness, or feeling like you are going to faint may not directly caused by an inner ear problem. Issues related to the cardiovascular system, visual system, musculoskeletal system, diabetes, sleep apnea, head injury, and migraine can all cause or contribute to these symptoms.

Dizziness may be a sign of issues such as inner ear disturbance, motion sickness, side effects from medication, visual system disturbance, poor circulation, issues with the musculoskeletal system, injury, or a combination of any of the above conditions.

Although anxiety or stress may not be the direct cause of dizziness, either or both may exacerbate dizziness or vertigo that occurs as result of vestibular system dysfunction..

Heart conditions such as arrhythmia, valve conditions, or cardiac conditions that can affect your blood pressure can cause dizziness.

Dizziness is a broad term, which includes several sensations, such as lightheadedness, feeling like your are going to faint, imbalance, feeling like your equilibrium is not correct, or vertigo. Vertigo describes a sense that you or your surroundings are moving and/or spinning in the absence of physical movement. Any form of dizziness (including vertigo) can range from mildly disorienting too severely debilitating.