Labyrinthitis makes your head spin

Dizziness is a really common reason to go to the GP and people are surprised to know it is often caused by a virus.

Sudden dizziness particularly with room spinning is commonly caused by a condition called labyrinthitis. This is an inflammation of part of the ear known as the labyrinth that controls our balance. When it becomes inflamed or irritated, the balance is affected: this causes dizziness with nausea or vomiting (sometimes termed vertigo). It comes on suddenly and develops just as quickly as a cold might.

It is most commonly caused by a virus – often it develops after a simple cold or sore throat, but sometimes it seems to be spontaneous with no precipitating infection. There are also much rarer causes of the condition including middle ear infections, injury to the ear and strangely it can be a side effect of some drugs.

Labyrinthitis does cause an intense dizziness  making normal tasks impossible as you feel very unsteady. Lying down can often give the only relief, and it may be you will need a sick note to allow you to rest. Your GP can prescribe anti-sickness tablets to help the vomiting and there are specific medicines that may reduce the vertigo slightly.  

It generally lasts about 2 weeks but the first few days are normally the worst. After that the unsteadiness is still there but usually not as intense. For some the symptoms can unfortunately continue for longer even a couple of months but this is unusual. By this time, your doctor would be looking for underlying causes other than a simple virus.

Dizziness can also be caused by a wide variety of other problems including anaemia, low blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, nerve disorders and taking certain medications.  Chatting through the history of your dizziness and your other symptoms with your GP gives a good idea of where it is originating.

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Tags: doctors (medical practitioners), hospital, pharmacists, vertigo