Vertigo is the feeling that your surroundings are spinning even if you're standing still. It is a balance issue commonly associated with MS and its interruption of nerve signals.
People with MS may feel off balance or lightheaded. Much less often, they have the sensation that they or their surroundings are spinning — a condition known as vertigo.
2 In patients with MS, equilibrium disorders caused by the involvement of the brainstem and cerebellar structures are common, and about 20% of MS patients represent true vertigo at some time during the disease.
A typical episode of vertigo lasts for seconds or minutes. Severe vertigo (such as vertigo as a result of Ménière's disease, which is unrelated to MS) is uncommon, but it can be constant and last for a few days.
Problems with balance and feeling dizzy are common in MS, and can have knock-on effects on your walking. Like all MS symptoms, these issues affect people differently, and vary from day to day.
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
Here's where MS (typically) starts
Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, is usually the most common, Shoemaker says. You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache. It often occurs on one side and can eventually lead to partial or total vision loss.
Generally, see your doctor if you experience any recurrent, sudden, severe, or prolonged and unexplained dizziness or vertigo. Get emergency medical care if you experience new, severe dizziness or vertigo along with any of the following: Sudden, severe headache. Chest pain.
Many people with MS experience dizziness, in which you feel light-headed or off-balance, notes the NMSS. A less-common MS symptom is vertigo. When you have vertigo, you feel as though your surroundings are spinning around you, Dr.
What is Autoimmune Vertigo? In autoimmune vertigo, the immune system malfunctions and attacks just the ear, the ear and some other body part like the eye, or the entire body. Damage to the inner ear structures can result in vertigo and/or hearing impairment.
The most common conditions are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular migraine, Menière's disease and vestibular neuritis/labyrinthitis. Unfortunately, each of these conditions can produce symptoms very similar to those of stroke or TIA, so careful attention to symptom details is required.
The course of MS is unpredictable and can cause a variety of symptoms in different people. It may cause hearing problems and other symptoms that have to do with the function of the inner ear, such as hearing loss, tinnitus, balance problems, and a muffled or full feeling in the ear.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a wonderful tool to help diagnose and follow people with MS. MRI is safe and relatively non-invasive yet can provide very detailed images of the brain and spinal cord that can reveal MS lesions (also known as demyelination, spots, or plaques) and changes in MS activity over time.
There are two types of vertigo, peripheral and central vertigo.
An otolaryngologist performs a physical exam to look for signs and symptoms of the cause of vertigo. He or she uses delicate instruments to magnify and examine the ear canal and eardrum. Your doctor may also examine your eye movements or ask you to track an object from one point in space to another.
Vertigo is just one symptom that can occur with chronic stress and anxiety. So learning a few stress management techniques can help with vertigo and your overall well-being. Mental health experts recommend habits such as: Getting enough sleep.
People may experience blurred vision, double vision, eye pain or loss of color vision. Difficulty articulating words or swallowing and slurred speech may occur if there's damage to the area that controls the mouth and throat.
While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.
Canadian research shows people with MS are more likely than the general population to visit a doctor or hospital in the years leading up to an MS diagnosis.
Severe, ongoing dizziness
Dizziness has many causes, but MS-induced dizziness is typically more severe and lasts for at least two days.
One of the first questions many people have when they're diagnosed with MS is: “Will I still be able to drive?” The good news is that most people with MS continue to drive as normal.
A technique called canalith repositioning (or Epley maneuver) usually helps resolve benign paroxysmal positional vertigo more quickly than simply waiting for your dizziness to go away. It can be done by your doctor, an audiologist or a physical therapist and involves maneuvering the position of your head.