Vertigo: Definition, Types, and Symptoms

If you have vertigo, although you are not, you can feel like you are moving or spinning. Or you might feel like your surroundings are on the move when they are not. Vertigo is characterized by many as feeling dizzy, but it’s different from being light-headed. Simple movements are excruciating with vertigo, and the disorder can affect your daily life. Your symptoms will likely depend on what causes the attacks and what sort of vertigo you have.

Vertigo: Causes, symptoms, and treatments

How Common Is It to Experience Vertigo?

Vertigo is considered a common symptom. According to the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, 40 percent of all adults in the U.S. experience vertigo at least once during their lifetime. Dizziness is usually more common in older people, but it can affect anyone at any age. Women are significantly more likely to develop symptoms of dizziness than men.

Other research has shown that in the United States, around 12.5 million adults over 65 have a problem of dizziness or balance, which significantly interferes with their lives. According to the National Dizzy and Balance Center, there are between 5 and 8 million doctor visits in the United States each year for dizziness, which is a primary cause of hospital visits in people over 75 years old.

There Are Two Main Types of Vertigo

The two primary types of vertigo are:

  • Peripheral Vertigo: Peripheral vertigo is caused by a condition that affects the inner ear and the brain in regions of the inner ear or the vestibular nerve. This is the sort of vertigo that is generally more common.
  • Central Vertigo: Central vertigo occurs when there is a glitch in the brain, particularly in a cerebellum brain region.

Signs and Symptoms of Vertigo

Vertigo symptoms vary according to person. Depending on what causes the problem, the symptoms may be mild or extreme.

Some typical peripheral vertigo signs and symptoms include:

  • Dizziness
  • Feeling like you’re moving or spinning.
  • Problems focusing the eyes
  • Hearing loss in one ear
  • Balance problems
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Sweating
  • Nausea or vomiting

Centric vertigo can cause signs and symptoms like:

  • Double vision
  • Difficulty while swallowing
  • Paralysis in the face
  • Slurred speech
  • Weak limbs
  • Eye movement difficulties

What Does Vertigo Feel Like?

Vertigo is characterized by many as feeling like the room is spinning.

This could cause you to feel tilted, rocking, unbalanced, or unstable.

Often, if you stand up, walk, or turn your head around, those uncomfortable sensations worsen. These feelings are described by many as physically exhausting and taxing. Occasionally, the symptoms are so extreme that you feel nauseous or vomiting.

Symptoms may last for a couple of minutes or can last for hours.

Some people have regular, recurrent Vertigo episodes. Others have vertigo symptoms that go away and reappear after a while.

Vertigo signs typically don’t include lightheadedness, fainting, or lack of motion.

It can be difficult to live with vertigo. Your episodes may be erratic and unpredictable. You may not have any symptoms on some days, although

you may have crippling episodes of dizziness on other days.

The good news is that there are effective treatment options for vertigo to improve your symptoms and quality of life.

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