Vertigo

Your doctor may do a series of tests to determine the cause of your dizziness. During a physical exam, your doctor will likely look for:

Signs and symptoms of dizziness that are prompted by eye or head movements and then decrease in less than one minute

Dizziness with specific eye movements that occur when you lie on your back with your head turned to one side and tipped slightly over the edge of the examination bed

Involuntary movements of your eyes from side to side

Inability to control your eye movements

If your doctor can't find the cause of your signs and symptoms, he or she may order additional testing, such as:

Electronystagmography (ENG) or videonystagmography (VNG). The purpose of these tests is to detect abnormal eye movement. ENG (which uses electrodes) or VNG (which uses small cameras) can help determine if dizziness is due to inner ear disease by measuring involuntary eye movements while your head is placed in different positions or your balance organs are stimulated with water or air.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This test uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create cross-sectional images of your head and body. Your doctor can use these images to identify and diagnose a range of conditions. MRI may be performed to rule out other possible causes of vertigo.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo may go away on its own within a few weeks or months. But, to help relieve BPPV sooner, your doctor, audiologist or physical therapist may treat you with a series of movements known as the canalith repositioning procedure.

Canalith repositioning

Performed in your doctor's office, the canalith repositioning procedure consists of several simple and slow maneuvers for positioning your head. The goal is to move particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals of your inner ear into a tiny baglike open area (vestibule) that houses one of the otolith organs in your ear, where these particles don't cause trouble and are more easily resorbed.

Each position is held for about 30 seconds after any symptoms or abnormal eye movements stop. This procedure usually works after one or two treatments.