A good portion of this initial visit is dedicated to helping Barbara organize her thoughts. Many people use terms such as vertigo, dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting interchangeably. However to physicians they have very distinct meanings. Dizziness refers to a disturbed sense of one s relationship in space and can be caused by problems with a variety of body systems including circulation, cardiovascular, eyes, brain, and ears. Vertigo is a hallucination of motion.
Patients feel as if they are spinning or that their surroundings are moving.
Unsteadiness is described as a sense of falling and may be due to problems with the ear, brain, or nerves. Lightheadedness usually occurs with rapid changes in position and is usually due to a circulation problem such as low blood pressure. After a thorough history of the problem has been carefully obtained, the doctor explains that the evaluation will also include examination of the head and neck as well as a neurotologic exam. Because the balance system is so close to the hearing mechanism, vestibular testing includes tests of hearing and middle ear function. These tests are performed in a sound-treated room by a certified audiologist.