How Long Vertigo Lasts for Each Vestibular Disorder

Dizziness is experienced in a variety of ways. Whether the world spins around you or you feel disoriented. Whether it lasts for seconds or is persistent at all times. There are dozens of types of dizziness (only one type of true vertigo) that one can experience. It’s the job of the Vestibular Specialist to listen to your symptoms, run tests, and determine the cause.

In this process of listening to your symptoms, one of the first areas we listen for is the length of time that your vertigo (dizziness) episodes last. Because there are common correlations between certain vestibular disorders and the length of their episodes.

Length of Dizziness Episodes

First of all, this is just a general guideline and should not be taken for a diagnosis. Time is just one indicator and the guideline below is a small starting point that doesn’t replace the rest of vestibular testing we’d have a patient go through at our clinic.

Here are the length of dizziness episodes and the type of vestibular disorder commonly linked with that period of time:

• Less than a minute – BPPV & Visually-Induced Dizziness
• Minutes to hours – Vestibular Migraine & Meniere’s Disease
• Constant for days to weeks- Labyrinthitis & Vestibular Neuritis 
• Months or longer– PPPD

How Vestibular Treatment Works

Let us worry about classifying and treating your dizziness. There are many indicators we must look at in order to determine the source of your dizziness. Our treatment process (which you can read about in detail here), looks at both subjective and objective data.

First, every patient visit starts with an in-depth conversation. We need to understand your case history, your symptoms, and your triggers. From this conversation, we’ll have a plan for the next steps and the necessary diagnostic tests we need to run.

Second, we run you through the battery of diagnostic tests to collect data on your vestibular system to find any abnormalities and dysfunctions. Not to bore you with the details, but these tests include: VEMP, EcochG, ABR, CDP, VNG, VHIT, Neuro-Vestibular Tests in the Advanced Rotational Chair, and audiological evaluations. Needless to say, vestibular treatment is a science that requires state-of-the-art equipment.

Third, based on the data we’ve collected and where we’ve identified your vestibular problems, we design a treatment plan to rehabilitate your balance system. Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) is a customized set of visual and physical therapies designed to alleviate the symptoms of vestibular disorders and other sources of imbalance. The therapies include: Balance Training, Gaze Stabilization, Habituation, and Canalith Repositioning.

Overall, treatment at the Dizzy & Vertigo Institute results in building up a patient’s internal defenses against dizziness triggers, strengthening the muscles used to balance, resetting your perceived sense of balance, and re-aligning the inner ear instruments used to detect balance.

If you or someone you know struggles with vertigo or dizziness symptoms, then please contact us at (310) 683-4679 or by filling out our contact form here

We hope to hear from you soon!