Dizziness Depot

As Halloween draws near we thought we would look into the question of “can you be scared dizzy?”. I will preface this post by stating that feeling fearful or being scared would not directly trigger dizziness symptoms associated with most inner ear conditions and in turn, the majority of the conditions discussed are outside of my area of specialty. The

The Romberg test, sometimes spelled Rhomberg, is a commonly used but often misunderstood screening test for standing balance. It involves having the patient stand with feet together and arms either folded across the chest or at the sides. Initially, the patient’s ability to maintain this position with minimal swaying is observed. Subsequently, the patient is asked to stand with eyes

September is falls prevention awareness month and as such we are going to discuss some of the more common risk factors for falling. Falls are an enormous problem that can impact one’s health, quality of life and financial stability. Falls are the second leading cause for unintentional injury death worldwide and cost over $50 billion in medical expenses in the

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Deanne asking questions about Vestibular Neuritis (VN) and associated chronic symptoms. With her permission, because her questions are both relevant and typical of many patients with VN, I am responding through this blog in a Q and A format. Deanne’s questions in Italics. My responses in bold. Links to relevant

My most recent blog discussed the state (or lack thereof) of the development of a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for acute vertigo. I ended the blog with the following thought: “Is it possible that a Clinical Practice Guideline for acute vertigo could result in more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment, while at the same time dramatically reducing cost? There

When patients arrive in the Emergency Department with the complaint of dizziness or vertigo, there is a 40 to 50% chance that a cranial CT will be ordered. When that same patient is evaluated through telehealth by a specialist with advanced knowledge and skill in evaluating dizziness and vertigo, there is only a 2% chance that a cranial CT will

By Alan L. Desmond, AuD. Vestibular Migraine (VM) is one of the most common causes of dizziness and vertigo. Just like migraine headache, there is no specific diagnostic test, so the diagnosis is based on an agreed upon set of clinical signs and symptoms. In the case of VM, two professional societies, the International Headache Society and the Barany Society

This month’s post is by Amanda Davis. Amanda is a 3rd year audiology doctoral student at UNC Chapel Hill completing her vestibular clinical rotation with us. She has a particular interest in cochlear implants and a recent patient that we saw inspired her to write this.  There are several hypothesized reasons for postoperative vestibular dysfunction, including but not limited to:

Vestibular disorders are the most common cause of dizziness, accounting for around 45% of all dizziness, regardless of the clinical setting. Despite this, vestibular disorders have historically been poorly managed due to protocols that often miss or misdiagnose those with vestibular dysfunction. Not surprisingly, protocols in the emergency department are focused on identifying life threatening pathologies and vestibular disorders are

Last month’s post was an introduction to Third Mobile Window Syndromes (TMWS) in general. This month’s post will focus on the diagnostic techniques that may be helpful in the diagnosis of a TMWS. Diagnosis is often reached through a combination of measures including vestibular and hearing tests, imaging with CT scan or MRI, as well as correlation with consistent symptoms.