Causes of Dizziness

If you are experiencing dizziness, you may have a problem with one or more of these factors, according to Organized Wisdom: If for some reason your eyes aren't perceiving space, location and movement properly, this will cause dizziness. Secondly, if your sensory nerves are malfunctioning, this will mess up your perception of space and movement and this will result in dizziness. Messages from the brain to the nerves can get tripped up for various reasons and this will make you feel unsteady and unbalanced. If you have too much fluid in your inner ear, which is the body's organ of balance, this will cause problems. Particles in the ear are attached to sensors that help detect back and forth motion and gravity. If there is damage to the particles, dizziness will ensue.

Vertigo

According to Dr. Kevin A. Kerber, a neurologist and dizziness specialist of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, the first thing that must be determined is what type of dizziness a person is experiencing. The three most common types of dizziness include vertigo, imbalance and light-headedness. Vertigo is the sensation of the environment spinning around you. The peripheral vestibular system keeps the eyes stationary through connections with the brain. However, a physiological imbalance can occur in the signals that lead to small movements of the eye that keep vision at peak performance when the head moves. When an abnormality in in the signal balance occurs, this can result in nystagmus, which is a pattern of eye movements. When the eyes move in this fashion, it makes it seem as those the world is moving even though the person is still. This is vertigo.

Other factors that can lead to vertigo and dizziness include viral infections of the vestibular system, a brain condition, including a stroke, tumor or multiple sclerosis (MS) and Meniere's disease, which is when there is too much fluid in the inner ear chamber. When a stroke, tumor or MS infringe on the vestibular pathways this is what causes vertigo.

Imbalance

A feeling of being off-balance can lead to dizziness. Problems in the cerebellum, which is the area of the brain where sensory signals are processed, can lead to the sensation of being unbalanced and dizzy. If there is some sort of problem going on in the brain, sensory input is impaired, as a result, and the brain has difficulty interpreting the signals it is getting.

Feeling Lightheaded

Many of us have experienced, at one time or another, that feeling of lightheadedness and dizziness after standing up too quickly. This can be caused by medicine, extreme anxiety or a decrease in the blood flow to the brain.

Sinuitis

A case of sinuitis, which is the inflammation of your sinuses, can cause dizziness, according to Sinus Infection Care (see Resources).

Medications

If you are suffering from dizziness, consider the medication you are taking. Your medicine may be the cause of your dizziness. Neurology Channel notes that some medicines, as well as environmental chemicals, such as mercury, tin and lead, can cause ear poisoning, which is called ototoxicity. This can damage the inner ear or the acoustic nerve, which is the eighth cranial nerve. This can lead to dizziness. Some antibiotics can cause dizziness, particularly if you take them for a long period of time. Specific medicines that cause temporary ototoxicity include antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, pain relievers, diuretics, cold medicines and quinine.

References

• Scientific American
• Sinuvil
• Organized Wisdom

Resources

• Sinus Infection Care
• Neurology Channel