Does vertigo go away gradually?

Out of nowhere you’re thrown into a spiral. You can’t compare the feeling to anything you’ve ever experienced. But you feel that it was vertigo. Maybe you’re amidst a lingering dizziness episode now. Perhaps it’s been a few hours or days. And now you’re wondering “does vertigo go away gradually?”

The short answer is yes in some cases, no in most cases without treatment.

Oftentimes, the term “vertigo” is misused to describe any feeling of dizziness. In fact, vertigo is a specific type of dizziness, of which there are dozens other types of dizziness. Each type of dizziness usually correlates to a different vestibular disorder which requires varying levels of treatment.

The first obstacle to knowing if your vertigo will go away gradually is knowing the source of your dizziness. We administer a vestibular assessment to determine this. (Book an appointment with one of our vestibular audiologists here.)

So before you jump to any conclusions, you must recognize that there are a lot of different causes of dizziness. Some more serious than others.

However, if we’re talking about positionally provoked rotational vertigo, then most likely the cause is BPPV. And that, we can provide an answer to “does vertigo go away gradually?”

Does Vertigo Go Away Gradually?

Vertigo is most commonly the symptom of BPPV or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. As addressed above, sometimes “vertigo” is used interchangeably or casually for other types of dizziness.

But if we’re talking true positionally provoked rotational vertigo, then we’re most likely talking BPPV.

BPPV brings with it short bursts of rotational vertigo, lasting less than a minute. The vertigo episodes are typically brought on by positionally provoked movements such as sudden head movements, lying in bed, rolling onto either side in bed and bending over. These episodes may also be sporadic and unpredictable depending on the movement. Will this unpredictable vertigo go away gradually?

Well, without treatment from a professional, you’re relying on a microscopic crystal called otoconia to randomly and correctly reposition in your inner ear. BPPV may resolve itself within a few weeks to months.

Ultimately, BPPV is known to come back again and again, months or years later.

That’s why it’s best to get treatment and find a specialist that can resolve your symptoms whenever they return. In fact, BPPV is one of the easiest balance disorders to treat.

But BPPV accounts for only about 20% of vestibular disorder diagnoses.

Other vestibular disorders are not quite so lucky. 

Why To Seek Vestibular Treatment

Vestibular migraine, meniere’s disease, labrynthitis, vestibular neuritis, post-concussion dizziness, and other vestibular disorders almost always rely on expert treatment to resolve or reduce symptoms.

Regardless of the source of your dizziness, it’s important to seek treatment for your dizziness. Read more on 3 Dangers of Leaving Your Dizziness Untreated.

The reality is that you just never know what might be causing what you think is vertigo. And furthermore, there is treatment out there to help your dizzy situation.

Our Vestibular Lab at the Dizzy & Vertigo Institute is equipped to find abnormalities and dysfunctions in your vestibular system which are causing dizziness, vertigo, and other balance problems.

There’s always a source of dizziness and Audiologists specializing in the vestibular system (such as ourselves) are the most well-positioned with our equipment to find what’s going wrong and fix it.

Please, reach out to our care team at (310) 954-2207 or fill out our contact form here.

We hope to hear from you soon!