Vertigo is a common clinical condition, and patients feel very painful during attacks, which seriously affects their quality of life. According to general statistics, vertigo disease accounts for 5% of internal medicine outpatient clinics and 15% of ENT outpatient clinics. Vertigo creates fear in patients and poses a greater threat to them. But most patients do not know about vertigo, and there are even some misunderstandings, so let’s get to know vertigo: I. Vertigo and dizziness Vertigo is a kind of motion illusion, and there is no external stimulation during the attack. Vertigo itself is not an independent disease, there are dozens of diseases that can cause vertigo. The word vertigo originates from the Latin word meaning to turn, and can be spinning, tumbling, swaying, tipping sensations, floating and bumping sensations, etc. During a vertigo attack, you see things spinning around you with your eyes open and feel like you are spinning when your eyes are closed. Many patients also experience nausea, vomiting, sweating, and even falling to. These sensations are true vertigo and are generally associated with physiological and pathological stimulation of the vestibular system. Dizziness, sometimes called lightheadedness, is a symptom of discomfort within the head that cannot be accurately expressed. It can be a mild feeling of instability, floating, or slight movement, and can be caused by dysfunction of the vestibular system or by diseases such as hypotension, cerebral ischemia, hypoglycemia, or anxiety. Why do I feel vertigo? The human body relies on the mutual coordination of three systems: the ears (vestibular part of the inner ear), the eyes (vision), and the legs and feet (proprioception of muscles and joints) to maintain balance, with the vestibular system being the most important. If there is damage to the vestibule, vertigo, unstable walking and even falling will occur. Is vertigo necessarily caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain or cervical spondylosis? Some patients often say that vertigo is caused by “insufficient blood supply to the brain” or “cervical spondylosis”, but it is not. There are dozens of diseases that can cause vertigo. There are dozens of diseases that can cause vertigo. Medically, vertigo is divided into peripheral vertigo and central vertigo according to the location of the disease. Peripheral vertigo is caused by inner ear or vestibular neuropathy, such as Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, etc. Central vertigo is mainly a disease of the brainstem, cerebellum or brain, with infections, inflammation, vascular disease, tumors, allergic reactions, etc. as possible causes. Peripheral vertigo disorders are more common, accounting for about two-thirds of vertigo. There are also many other diseases such as refractive abnormalities, eye muscle paralysis, anxiety or depression and hypertension, hypotension, anemia, etc. that may also cause vertigo. 4. Why vertigo patients should undergo audiological examination The peripheral vestibular organs are connected with the cochlear canal, and there are auditory receptors in the cochlear canal. Thus, pathological processes affecting the vestibular and cochlear organs can cause auditory damage in addition to vertigo. For example, the typical triad of Meniere’s disease includes episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, and tinnitus. In addition, vagal fistula, ototoxicity, and auditory neuroma vertigo are often seen in conjunction with hearing loss. For the early diagnosis of many cases of vertigo, an audiological examination is often required. Since the auditory and vestibular systems are often affected by the same disease, audiometry in patients with vertigo plays an important role in the diagnosis of the patient, and the information obtained from the auditory function test can help in the diagnosis. Several common diseases of otogenic vertigo: 1. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common type of peripheral vertigo, referred to as “otoliths”. Why is there a stone in the ear? In fact, there are many calcium carbonate-like crystals in every person’s ear, like a thin layer of tiny gravel invisible to the naked eye, covering the sensory spot in the vestibule of the inner ear, which is called an otolith. Normally the otoliths are attached to the otolithic membrane. When some factors cause the otoliths to fall out, these otoliths change position with the flow of lymphatic fluid in the inner ear, and the ectopic fallen otoliths stimulate the vestibular receptors and cause a neurological response, leading to vertigo. However, this vertigo is benign and is a transient paroxysmal vertigo that occurs with a change in head position. 2.Ménière’s disease Typical symptoms are recurrent vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and also unrelieved ear congestion in some patients. In the early stages of Ménière’s disease, there is no conscious deafness, or only tinnitus or congestion in the ears. If the number of attacks increases, the hearing loss of patients will gradually worsen and eventually lead to significant deafness without recovery. What do vertigo patients need to pay attention to in their daily life? During the vertigo attack, it is necessary to reduce the change of head position and pay attention to avoid straight line of light and sound stimulation. Those who have severe vomiting should pay attention to replenish water and nutrition by eating less and more meals, and those who have difficulty in eating can maintain fluid balance by intravenous rehydration. After the treatment of peripheral vertigo, the vertigo symptoms can often be relieved quickly, but after the acute vertigo symptoms are relieved, patients often have balance disorder, so they should be encouraged to move more, especially the head movement. We should pay attention to ensure good sleep, happy mood, frequent light diet, no coffee and strong tea, no smoking and no alcohol, etc.