Question

A patient presents to the clinic with complaints of inner ear disturbance.

How would you differentiate between labyrinthitis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and Meniere’s disease?

Include pathophysiology, clinical presentation, physical examination, diagnostics, and treatment.

Answer 1

Answer: When inner ear gets infected or inflamed, it can cause a type of balance disorder known as labyrinthitis. This infection is mainly caused by the virus. when there is disturbance occurs in the inner ear, the ear fails to send the information to the brain and hence balance disorder take place.

The symptoms include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Ringing in ears or hearing loss
• Blurry vision
• Feeling unbalanced

If person suffering from the labyrinthitis then the doctor will diagnose it through many test such as: Brain test, Head injury, Stroke etc. There are much treatment available for this but once the disease confirmed then only doctors proceed with the medication. If doctor finds that its bacterial infection and it is only the cause then he might prescribe antiviral meds or those that control swelling. Steroids like cortisone etc.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo. It can be described as the sudden sensation of spinning.

The signs and symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo include:

• A loss of balance or unsteadiness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness

The doctor may do few test to confirm about the problem such as dizziness with specific eye movements that occur when lying on back with head turned to one side and tipped slightly over the edge of the examination bed. The treatment includes the canalith repositioning, the procedure consists of several simple and slow action for positioning head. The goal is to move particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals of inner ear into a tiny bag-like open area (vestibule).