Dealing with vertigo is no easy feat. Many patients seeking vertigo relief in Cedar Park can agree that once an episode kicks in, it will be uncomfortable for a few seconds or the next minute. However, if you have a severe vertigo-causing condition, you may experience episodes that stretch for hours, days, or weeks. Worst of all, the symptoms can disrupt your day-to-day schedule and leave you susceptible to additional health concerns such as depression and anxiety.
Most people attribute it to dizziness. However, vertigo is a lot more complicated than that. Vertigo attacks involve a spinning or rotational component. It can cause you to detect twisting or spinning movements and can happen without warning. Apart from dizziness and spinning surroundings, other telling signs of vertigo are:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Double vision
- Racing heartbeat
- Headaches
Notably, the accompanying symptoms differ depending on the underlying cause of your spinning sensations. Hence, you might find it helpful to learn as much as you can about the key causes of an episode: central, peripheral and cervical vertigo.
Peripheral Vertigo
This is the most widespread type of vertigo, affecting about 80% of people with vertigo. Peripheral vertigo is often due to a problem in your inner ear. Your inner ear serves an essential role in converting the vibrations into signals that the brain perceives as sound waves. Additionally, the inner ear works hand in hand with other parts of the vestibular system (eyes, motor sensors in your muscles, etc.) to maintain your balance when you move.
Naturally, when your inner ears fail to function correctly, it transmits signals that differ from the rest of your balance and proprioception organs. This confuses your brain and causes you to experience sudden bouts of spinning or swaying sensation. Below are some famous examples of conditions classified under peripheral vertigo:
BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)
This is perhaps the most prevalent condition associated with vertigo. BPPV occurs because of displaced calcium crystals inside the inner ears. These tiny fragments travel to the fluid-filled ear section and mess up the signals your brain receives. As a result, whenever your head moves, you will feel like your whole world is spinning around you. It can also cause you to lose your balance.
Thankfully, vertigo episodes caused by BPPV usually appear abruptly for several seconds to several minutes, then gradually improve as your brain recalibrates the body’s current position or orientation.
Labyrinthitis
Your inner ear, also called the ear’s labyrinth, consists of a system of fluid-filled tunnels mainly responsible for two things. The first is sending sound signals to the brain, and the second one helps maintain your balance by sending signals to the brain concerning the head’s current position and movements.
If your labyrinth experiences some inflammation or irritation, labyrinthitis will take place. Labyrinthitis may also include hearing loss, tinnitus, and nausea, apart from vertigo episodes. Please consult with a professional to begin experiencing vertigo relief in Cedar Park, speed up recovery, and prevent irreparable inner ear damage.
Meniere’s Disease
This condition is rare and affects only approximately 12 out of every 1,000 people. This occurs due to an excess buildup of endolymph, or fluid, in your inner ear. This happens when your labyrinth does not drain fluid correctly. When you have Meniere’s Disease, you may also feel as have that feeling of fullness or congestion in your ear. Because of this, you may feel off-balanced and experience a reduction in hearing in one affected ear. There is also a big chance that you may experience nausea, tinnitus or ringing inside the ear, and hearing loss early on. Sadly some people can have permanent hearing loss.
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Central Vertigo
Central vertigo affects about 20% of people who experience vertigo. This is due to problems linked to your central nervous system. Vertigo may occur when you suffer from any injury from sporting activities, a viral infection that affects the brain, a brain tumor, or a stroke. When your vertigo stems from central vertigo, your episodes can be more intense than the average patient. There are some conditions commonly causing central vertigo:
Migraine-Induced Vertigo
Besides causing intense, throbbing, and pounding pain in the head, migraines can sometimes set off vertigo attacks, vomiting, and nausea.
Acoustic Neuritis
This condition results from a non-malignant mass growth on the cranial nerve deep within the inner ear. It causes vertigo by putting added pressure on the adjacent nerves, usually accompanied by headaches and hearing loss. In addition, numbness in the face can also occur if the trigeminal nerve experiences pressure.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
This autoimmune disease affects your myelin or the protective layer for the nerve cells, potentially leading to a problem with your nervous system. In addition, your body may receive wrong signals affecting your muscle coordination, resulting in vertigo, problems with eyesight, movement issues, and hearing disorders.
Cervical Vertigo
If you don’t have peripheral or central vertigo, you likely have cervical vertigo, which stems from a compromised cervical spine. This is a fairly common issue among patients who come to Dr. Lin for vertigo relief in Cedar Park. The spinning sensation happens because misaligned neck bones interfere with vestibular function.
A vertigo relief in Cedar Park Can Help Manage Your episodes.
Unknown to many, achieving lasting vertigo relief in Cedar Park can sometimes involve correcting misalignments in their upper cervical spine. This misalignment, mainly on the C1 and C2 vertebrae, puts pressure on the body’s brainstem, leading to improper signals to the brain, and prompting vertigo attacks.
The stress on your brainstem can also impact the Eustachian tube, a small passageway connecting your throat to your middle ear and draining excess head fluid. This can leave you vulnerable to hearing loss, ear congestion, and impaired vestibular function.
Consult with us at Symmetry Health Chiropractic Center located in Cedar Park, Texas, and let our chiropractic doctor help you find long-term relief. Call us at 512-572-3976 or fill out this contact form to start addressing the root cause of your vertigo episodes.
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