We know that struggling with dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, or any sort of disequilibrium can be incredibly distressing, especially when you don’t feel like you’re getting any answers as to what might be causing it, but you are not alone
Dizziness and balance disorders are unfortunately very common, but there are some excellent resources available to help you understand more about what you are experiencing and connect with others who have been down the same path.
Of course, getting a comprehensive neurovestibular assessment is key to determining exactly what may be causing your symptoms and finding out what can be done about it, but in the meantime, and even after you’ve received a diagnosis, the following two organizations are tremendous sources of information, support, and advocacy for anyone experiencing balance & dizziness-related problems:
Balance and Dizziness Canada https://balanceanddizziness.org
A lof of people inquire about booking our “BPPV Assess & Treat” appointment because it is so much shorter and less expensive than a comprehensive assessment. The reason you aren’t able to book it online is that there seems to be a lot of confusion about what BPPV is, and what it is not. Many people have been told that they have BPPV when a few simple screening questions would have determined that they most definitely do not. We are more than happy to assess and treat BPPV. In fact, we love it! It is incredibly rewarding to be able to immediately resolve something that is so debilitating with a few simple maneuvers. Unfortunately, not all dizziness is a result of BPPV though, and there’s no point in wasting your time and money on an unnecessary additional appointment when it may have been obvious from the start that your symptoms were not consistent with BPPV. We cannot deduct the cost of a BPPV Assess & Treat from a susbsequent comprehensive assessment if you decide to book it just because it is shorter, even though your symptoms aren’t consistent with it. We still have to book the same amount of clinic time for a comprehensive assessment if that’s ultimately what you end up needing, whether you’ve had a previous BPPV assessment or not, so it may end up costing you more in the long run. Please don’t take that to mean we don’t want to see you if you think you have BPPV – we absolutely do. We just really want to clarify what seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding BPPV. Please read the following information, and if it does in fact seem that you may have BPPV, please give us a call or send us an email letting us know you’ve read the BPPV screening information and we will be more than happy to book you in immediately. Thank you kindly for your understanding.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is a common peripheral vestibular condition that most people have heard referred to as something along the lines of “loose crystals” in the ears. While BPPV is certainly common, it is by no means the only source of dizziness and vertigo symptoms and is very frequently erroneously diagnosed. I.e. people are often immediately diagnosed with BPPV as soon as they report any sort of dizziness/vertigo symptoms at all, or mistakenly self-diagnose because it’s the first thing that comes up in a Google search of “vertigo” or “dizzy” symptoms. If you do indeed have BPPV, that’s actually good news, believe it or not! BPPV is the one vestibular disorder that has an immediate corrective solution. Once we determine exactly where the “loose crystals” are located, we can physically manipulate them back into their correct location with specific maneuvers. That’s why we have the option of a much shorter duration “BPPV Assess & Treat” appointment. Before booking that though, we need to figure out if you are likley experiencing BPPV or not.
BPPV has 3 very distinct characteristics:
If you would like to read some more detailed information on BPPV, here are two excellent articles:
Here is a list of some of the most common disorders we see, with links to some excellent articles from Balance and Dizziness Canada, and VeDA. Note that some are peripheral/ear disorders, some are central/neurologic disorders, and some are a combination of both, or may not be vestibular at all (ex. cervicogenic dizziness). This list is by no means exhaustive either. The fact is that dizziness and imbalance symptoms can be caused by a vast number of different things, which is why thorough testing is so important.
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