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Vertigo is the feeling that you or the objects around you are spinning like a top. Although it is often described as dizziness, not every feeling of dizziness means vertigo. Complaints such as unsteadiness, wobble, feeling of drunkenness, drowsiness or stepping into the void are not vertigo. These are called “dizziness”, they are not related to vertigo and are usually seen in diseases that do not concern the ear.
Vertigo is not a name of a disease, but a symptom of a disease. Therefore, saying "I have vertigo" would not be a correct definition. Contrary to popular belief, vertigo can be seen not only in ear diseases, but also in neurological, internal, orthopedic and some eye diseases. Most of the diseases that cause vertigo are troubling but relatively insignificant. However, it is important to distinguish whether the event is a symptom of a serious disease in a vertigo attack (sudden hearing loss, tumoral events, brain hemorrhages, etc.). Therefore, clinical history and physical examination findings from the patient are very important.
Although many diagnostic methods are used in the diagnosis of vertigo, VNG (Videonystagmography) and VHIT (Video Head Impulse Test), which are very popular in recent years and used in our clinic, provide very useful information.
With VNG, involuntary eye movements called “nystagmus” that occur during dizziness are detected, and with VHIT, the functions of the balance organs in the inner ear are evaluated.
The most common causes of vertigo in ENT practice is BPPV (benign, attacks of dizziness that occurs with head movements), which is popularly known as "Crystal Disease". It occurs due to the uncontrolled movement of particles that are normally in the inner ear fluid where they should not be. To decide which "returning the crystals" movements (maneuvers) that we use in the diagnosis of this disease and also in the treatment will be is possible by determining the type, direction and speed of the eye movements that occur as a result of some diagnostic movement tests. This is where the VNG and VHIT tests come into play. Using these tests, we decide whether the disease is related to the ear, if it is related to the ear, whether the balance nerve or other balance organs are defective, if there is BPPV, which ear and which channel is faulty and what maneuver we need to do to correct it.
Videonystagmography
