by Dr. Laura Swingen | in Uncategorized | 0 comments
Well, actually, we all have little rocks in our heads. Specifically, these rocks are called “otoliths” and they are a part of the balance system in our inner ears. The word “otolith” literally translates to “ear stone”.
It’s not that there is anything wrong with having these in our heads, or more specifically, our ears. We need them to help tell if we are moving in a straight line – up/down, side to side, or back/ forth. But problems can arise if these little rocks (really more like the size of grains of sand) become dislodged from their tiny section of each inner ear and float up into a neighboring part of the inner ear that looks like curved tubes full of fluid. These curved tubes (called the semi-circular canals) help detect if our heads are moving in an arc.
So, if someone has an “ear stone” that accidentally floats up into one of the fluid-filled tubes, that person may have a number of different symptoms. Typically, the person will experience dizziness or vertigo with turning the head at a particular angle. However, depending on the person, we have have found in our office that any of the following symptoms can be due to the “rocks being in the wrong place”. These are:
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Headaches
- Eye pressure
- Face pain
- Irritability
- Difficulty reading or looking at anything up close
- Feeling like your eyes are wiggling, even when closed
- Feeling like things you are looking at are wiggling
- Not seeing things you would normally notice while driving (i.e. pedestrians)
- Involuntary jerking motions of the head, neck, or trunk
- Feeling like you are spinning or that the world is spinning around you
This condition is called BPPV, which stands for “benign paroxysmal positional vertigo”. There are many situations that can cause an ear stone to float up into a semi-circular canal. Some of these are:
- Concussions or whacking your head on something
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Whiplash
- Air travel
- Changes in barometric pressure
- Rolling over in bed
- Turning the head quickly
- Dehydration
BPPV is treated by various repositioning maneuvers to, in effect, roll the ear stone out of the affected semi-circular canal so that it goes back to where it belongs. Dr. Swingen has considerable experience in treating this condition using these maneuvers. If you suspect that you or someone you care about is suffering from BPPV, please give our office a call at 503-643-2225.