The balance of the human body is closely related to the function of the vestibular system present in the ear. When any part of the vestibular system is stimulated by physiological or pathological factors, the symmetry or equilibrium of the information sent from both sides is disrupted, resulting in a disturbance of balance and causing peripheral vertigo, a common disease in otolaryngology and neurology. However, it is not a matter of “treating the head when it hurts”. Recently, researchers have found that GERD and peripheral vertigo have some co-morbidity, and it is possible that some vertigo may be treated with acid-suppressing drugs. An article published in Med Hypotheses in June 2015 showed that researchers found that peripheral vertigo was present in 96 of 120 patients with GERD (77.6%), while only 33 of 126 subjects without reflux disease (26%) had a diagnosis of peripheral vertigo; meanwhile, H. pylori infection and peripheral vertigo coexisted in 26 of 126 cases (20.6%). In contrast, the coexistence of H. pylori infection and peripheral vertigo was observed in 26 of 126 cases (20.6%). The former was statistically significant by statistical software analysis, while the latter was not, i.e. it was not confirmed whether H. pylori infection was associated with peripheral vertigo. The researchers concluded that gastric acid can directly irritate the respiratory mucosa, causing inflammation and leading to local infection. Refluxes (hydrochloric acid and pepsin) enter the middle ear via the bony structures of the eustachian tube and have a direct effect. Whereas H. pylori reflux through the gastroesophagus may lead to sclerosis of the tympanic chamber and fixation of the auditory bone, leading to functional abnormalities, no direct effect of H. pylori was confirmed in this study. Disease co-morbidity is not a new term at this time. Due to similar etiologic interventions, pathogenic development, and pathologic product effects, many diseases can co-occur and cause a range of symptoms. Common ones are anxiety-depression co-morbidity, obsessive-compulsive disorder and personality disorder co-morbidity, and diabetes and depression co-morbidity. The digestive system is most commonly co-morbid with functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, and because both are functional disorders with complex psychosocial factors, they are often co-morbid with anxiety and depression. Patients with co-morbidities that arise from the same etiology usually find relief from both disorders after accurate treatment of the etiology. In the case of gastroesophageal reflux disease and peripheral vertigo, researchers believe that the cause of vertigo due to acid reflux should be eliminated and the symptoms will naturally disappear after the application of acid-suppressing drugs or alleviation of the GERD mechanism through other treatments. However, it should be clear that it is the pathological product and pathological process of GERD – acid and reflux – that causes the destruction of vestibular structures, the cause of peripheral vertigo, and not the other way around. Otherwise, no matter how much symptomatic treatment is directed at vertigo, it will not relieve GERD symptoms such as acid reflux and heartburn. The phenomenon of co-morbidity seems to be better understood when viewed from the TCM system. The essence of TCM is to discriminate between different illnesses, and under this principle, the guiding principle of “treating different illnesses together and treating the same illness differently” has been developed. In other words, different diseases can be treated by the same method if they have the same pathogenic mechanism; people suffering from the same disease should be treated by different methods due to different pathogenic characteristics and different physiques. Take gastroesophageal reflux disease and peripheral vertigo as examples, both of them reflect the pathological state of Qi reversal and Liver Yang hyperactivity, so both of them can be treated by descending Qi reversal and pacifying Liver and submerging Yang. Modern medicine puts forward the concept of integrative medicine, and academician Fan Daiming has emphasized: “Integrative medicine requires us to integrate not only the known biological factors, but also the psychological, social and environmental factors; it requires us to integrate not only the most advanced medical discoveries in all fields related to life, but also the most effective clinical experience in all medical fields. It requires us to integrate the most effective clinical experiences from all existing medical specialties …… thus building a new medical knowledge system that is more comprehensive, more systematic, more scientific, more in line with the laws of nature, and more suitable for human health maintenance and disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.” Whether the phenomenon of co-morbidity is viewed from the perspective of TCM or integrative medicine, it reveals that a higher level and more comprehensive perspective should be adopted in treating diseases, and only in this way can we see the essence of diseases and the true mystery of the human body.