Vestibular neuritis is an ear infection that causes sudden and severe dizzy spells and vertigo. While the condition usually improves after a few days, it can take weeks for the symptoms to completely disappear.
Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about vestibular neuritis, including symptoms, causes and treatments.
What is vestibular neuritis?
Vestibular neuritis is an ear condition affecting the inner ear’s vestibular nerve. This nerve helps to send information about balance to your brain. So, when the nerve is inflamed, the information can’t be properly communicated, leading to dizziness, vertigo and balance problems.
How rare is vestibular neuritis?
Anyone of any age can experience vestibular neuritis, but it’s more common in adults than children. As one of the top causes of vertigo, it’s believed to affect between 3.5 and 15.5 per 100,000 people every year. Generally, it’s known as a non-recurring condition, making it extremely rare for someone to suffer more than once from the infection. It can also be misdiagnosed for similar ear conditions.
Vestibular neuritis vs labyrinthitis
Often, vestibular neuritis can be mistaken for labyrinthitis, as they are both a type of ear infection that affects your balance with similar symptoms. However, the biggest difference is that labyrinthitis can cause hearing loss or tinnitus, whereas vestibular neuritis does not.
What are the symptoms of vestibular neuritis
The main symptoms of vestibular neuritis are sudden and severe bouts of vertigo and imbalances. However, you may experience several other symptoms. It’s also important to note that there are two types of vestibular neuritis: acute and chronic. Below, we’ll explain the symptoms of both conditions.
Acute vestibular neuritis
The most common type of the condition is acute vestibular neuritis, where you may experience the following symptoms for up to a week:
- Sudden and severe vertigo
- Intense dizziness
- Feeling lightheaded or unsteady
- Inability to balance or walk properly
- Nausea and vomiting
- Trouble concentrating
- Severe motion sensitivity
- Vision difficulties
These symptoms may start suddenly and get worse as the day goes on. However, they often ease after a few days.
Chronic vestibular neuritis
Although rare, some may experience chronic symptoms after having vestibular neuritis, which could last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. These symptoms include:
- Mild dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Mild nausea
- A feeling of fullness or pressure in your ears
- Mild motion sensitivity
- Difficulty walking due to feeling off balance
- Anxiety
We recommend speaking to your doctor if you’re struggling with chronic symptoms.
What are the causes of vestibular neuritis?
Vestibular neuritis is most commonly caused by viral infections that affect the inner ear, such as colds and flu. But, other infections that affect different areas of the body, such as chickenpox or shingles, can also lead to the condition. In some cases, bacterial infections can cause vestibular neuritis as well as allergies and exposure to toxic substances, but viral infections are more likely.
While vestibular neuritis isn’t contagious itself, the virus that causes it can be passed on to others.
How is vestibular neuritis treated?
Usually, vestibular neuritis isn’t anything to worry about, as the symptoms will clear up on their own after a week. However, it can be uncomfortable, so you can try these home remedies to ease symptoms:
- Lie down in a dark room if you feel dizzy
- Drink plenty of water – little and often
- Avoid bright lights and loud noises
- Sleep
It’s recommended not to drive, cycle, operate heavy machinery or drink alcohol while you’re still experiencing symptoms.
You can also try over-the-counter medications such as anti-nausea medications or antihistamines to help ease symptoms.
If you’re suffering from chronic vestibular neuritis, speak to your doctor, who may recommend other courses of treatment, which could involve seeing a physiotherapist.
How is vestibular neuritis diagnosed?
After explaining your symptoms to your GP, they may ask a series of questions about the initial onset and your medical history to rule out any serious conditions, such as a stroke, head injury or neurological disorders. You may need to be referred for imaging tests, including an MRI, or to see an audiologist to carry out balance and hearing tests to determine the damage to your vestibular nerve.
Takeaway
Vestibular neuritis is an ear condition that affects your balance and can cause extreme dizziness or vertigo. Often caused by a viral infection, it usually clears up on its own within two weeks. However, you may experience milder symptoms for weeks or even months after if it’s chronic. Your doctor will be able to order tests to confirm your diagnosis and provide a suitable treatment plan.
