Vertigo Treatment | Specialists and Information

Doctors distinguish between:

• Wobble vertigo
• Orthostatic dizziness and
• Rotational vertigo

Unsteady vertigo usually results from muscle tension, stressful or anxiety-inducing situations, or headaches and migraines.

With lift-like vertigo, those affected feel as if they are in an elevator that is starting to move.

This should be distinguished from rotational vertigo, which often indicates more serious medical conditions. A characteristic feature of rotational vertigo is that the sensation of dizziness moves clockwise or counterclockwise. This suggests involvement of the vestibular system in the inner ear.

Woman with dizziness leaning against a wall @ Robert Kneschke /AdobeStock

You should always have sudden dizziness checked out as soon as possible at a nearby hospital. This is because it could, under certain circumstances, be a stroke.

Recurrent or prolonged episodes of dizziness, on the other hand, should be evaluated by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist or a neurologist.

Many cities therefore have specialized vertigo centers where patients with vertigo symptoms can receive interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment.

Common causes of rotational vertigo include:

• Meniere’s disease
• Inflammation in the vestibular system
• Positional vertigo
• Alcohol consumption
• Trauma resulting from head injuries
• Epilepsy
• Migraine attacks, as well as
• Circulatory disorders in the brainstem

Sometimes an epileptic seizure is preceded by dizziness @ Rainer Fuhrmann /AdobeStock

Various testing methods are available today to examine the vestibular system.

The following methods are most commonly used:

• Clinical examination
• Blood pressure measurement
• Tuning fork test
• Otoscopy
• Nystagmus test (test for rapid, uncontrolled eye movements)
• Romberg test (test of balance)
• Finger-to-nose test
• Diadochokinesis (sequential alternating movements)
• Nerve conduction velocity measurements
• Head impulse test

In the finger-to-nose test, the patient attempts to touch the tip of their nose with their index finger @ Robert Kneschke /AdobeStock

Chronic dizziness, which occurs primarily in older adults, can be treated with medication or targeted exercises.

Specialized vertigo therapy often leads to a resolution of vertigo. Many patients benefit in particular from so-called combination therapies, consisting of medication and physical exercises.

In contrast to chronic vertigo, acute vertigo can also occur, such as in Meniere’s disease. Such disease-related vertigo attacks can usually be controlled very well with medication at first.

Later, however, surgical treatment for vertigo may rarely become necessary. Such procedures are performed at specialized vertigo centers throughout Germany.

Accredited vertigo centers are usually part of neurology centers or clinics for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) medicine. The specialists in vertigo therapy working there have completed specialized training as ENT physicians or neurologists.

The team at the vertigo center is multidisciplinary. In addition to specialists in neurology or ENT, it includes non-medical therapy teams.

For patients, this means comprehensive care and, when necessary, rapid rehabilitation.

Specialized vertigo centers bring together the latest research findings, thereby enabling optimal care for patients with vertigo attacks or chronic vertigo.