TYPES OF BALANCE DISORDERS
Common balance disorders seen by ENT specialists:

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) or positional vertigo

BPPV is described as a brief but intense episode of vertigo triggered by a specific change in the position of the head. A spinning sensation is triggered when a person bends down, tilt his/her head to look up, or roll over in bed during night sleep. If the latter, patient does wake up from the BPPV. BPPV occurs when loose otoconia (small crystals of calcium carbonate found in the ear) tumble into one of the semicircular canals and as a result, wrong information about the persons head position is sent to the balance center in the brain.

Labyrinthitis

Labyrinthitis is an inner ear infection when delicate inner ear structures called the labyrinth become inflamed. This condition is often associated with upper respiratory tract infection such as the flu. The most common symptoms are dizziness, hearing loss and vertigo. Other symptoms may be a feeling of pressure inside the ear, ringing or humming (tinnitus) in the ear, fluid or pus leaking out of the ear.

Patient should see a PCP or ENT-specialist if these symptoms are present. Patient should also avoid driving, using tools, going diving, or working at heights if he/she are feeling dizzy.

Meniere’s disease

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe episodes of vertigo (lasting hours to several days), tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. The vertigo often come on suddenly or shortly after a short period of tinnitus or decreased hearing. Some patients with Meniere’s disease have vertigo so extreme that they lose their balance and fall. In such situations the patient can’t be spoken to.

Vestibular neuronitis

Vestibular neuronitis is described as acute, sustained dysfunction of the vestibular nerve with vertigo, nausea and vomiting. The disorder is resulting from an infection that inflames the inner ear or the nerve connecting the inner ear to the brain. The inflammation disrupts the transmission of sensory information from the ear to the brain. Although vestibular neuronitis and labyrinthitis are closely related in some cases, vestibular neuronitis is generally distinguished from labyrinthis by preserved auditory function.

Patient should see a PCP or ENT-specialist if these symptoms are present. Patient should also avoid driving, using tools, going to dive, or working at heights if he/she are feeling dizzy.

Peilymph fistula

A perilymph fistula describes a leakage of inner ear fluid into the middle ear through a defect (hole) of the round window membrane. The membrane may be ruptured by a barotrauma of the ear. Barotrauma typically occurs when the ear is exposed to a significant change in ambient pressure, such as when a scuba diver ascends or descends. A perilymph fistula can also occur after a head injury, physical exertion, ear surgery, or chronic middle ear infection.

Mal de Debarquement syndrome (MdDS)

MdDS is usually associated with a feeling of continuously rocking or bobbing, typically after a ocean cruise, live aboards or even shorter sea travel. In the majority of cases the symptoms go away a few hours or days after the patient reaches land. More severe cases can last months or even years, and the cause remains unknown.