Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Tinnitus

I visited a famous Finnish tinnitus doctor yesterday. She has written her PhD thesis about somatic tinnitus and trigger point injections. Here's a link to her thesis and a video of the injection method. The first thing she examined was if I had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). (I most likely don't) She told me that this is the best and easiest way she has been able to help her tinnitus patients. BPPV can be cured with simple rotation movements of the body. More info about BPPV for example here.

The doctor said that often people with BPPV don't actually experience any vertigo, but it can cause a lot of muscle strain all over the head, neck and upper body, which is then hard to treat. If BPPV is cured, the muscle strain will start to reduce naturally. So BPPV can be linked to various muscle disorders like trigger points, which can cause somatic tinnitus.

I searched for BPPV here in the forums and there didn't seem to be discussions about this. I wonder if any of you have experience with tinnitus and BPPV? Maybe this is also a simple method to try for many of us and especially those who have vertigo symptoms.

 

I had an attack of this. An ENT consultant I saw didn't seem to link it to tinnitus at all and hold me it 'usually goes away on its own'. Not at all helpful, what is it withENTs?! However there is a GP at my local surgery who can carry out the rotational movements you mention to alleviate it.

 

@tychobrae, you can very easily do the rotation exercises yourself at home. You can find the manouver instructions pretty easily online.

 

@Sound Wave, it's really great that your are addressing this condition.

I've been talking to 3 people that has been diagnosed BPPV. One of them had tinnitus as well.

However, I'm reading so much fuzz about somatic tinnitus.

I found this theory quite interesting though:

Dr. Robert Aaron Levine's Tinnitus...

 

^ yes, that theory about DCN makes sense. It's also backed up by studies like using TENS machine to C2 in neck, which is discussed in another thread here. TENS (electricity) supresses T for some patients 100%.

 

Hi all, I have suffered from BPPV off and on for the last 15 years, it usually has a cycle of every 5 to 6 months.

My doctor diagnosed me with it originally just by looking at my pupils (which were quickly darting back and forth, the most telling sign that you have it!).

Back then all my doctor could or would do, was to prescribe drugs for the nausea, it wasn't until about a year ago when I come down with a real bad case that literally crippled me that I sought more medical advise and was prescribed THE EPLEY MANOEUVRE which was shown to me by a physiotherapist, done properly with the proper resting period BPPV should not return (which would have been nice to know 15 years ago).

I have not been troubled since.

I should add that the main reason I developed BPPV was because of my dependence on earplugs and the over use of them, not letting my ears breathe properly! Nothing to do with my tinnitus at all? which could be debatable I suppose! Lol

Rich

 

I have understood that there are several different manouvers which are used depending where small particles are located in the cochlea tubes (?) in the ear. I was given two sets of manouver instructions called Rahko and Lempert manouvers. Google has info and videos on both of these.

 

I have Meniere's which is now under control but the early years were devastating. IMO it is far worse than tinnitus because you are effectively disabled. The early treatment also consisted of anti-emetics and vasodilators which were basically useless. When I heard about reducing salt content I did that with a passion and whether this was what helped me the most or burnout in my bad ear something happened and the intensity and frequency of my dizziness attacks subsided. The vertigo itself took maybe 7 or 8 years to go away but I still have days where my balance is shot.

 

I feel I should add something here even though it's an old thread...

If you have slight attacks of vertigo/dizziness/light-headiness (small duration, can be replicated by moving the head at certain position) you may not have BBPV or anything like that.

Check yourself for what I can only translate as 'vestibular migraine' (I'm Greek, don't really know the English term ).

It's basically some sort of migraine which causes tinnitus or balance problems instead of head pain / headaches. Flunarizine (a calcium blocker) is usually prescribed and it could resolve both the tinnitus and the vertigo.

 

Hi I've got T plus allergies ( rhinitis) and swaying / rocking balance all running together daily,the headaches are the pits,paracetamol no good,but I went onto Migraleve,and the difference to headache much improved on them,I think maybe some of us with T may just suffer from some sort of Migraine,same us with the balance issue.
Why some of us get,balance and allergies ? And others don't ?
I've tried exercises for balance,tabs but nothing's helped.I'm out of ideas,I like how UNDECIDED put it.
Will read up on calcium blocker.Thanks for that

 

Marlene... rotational, constant, persisting vertigo is a different matter.

However, giving a Flunarizine based drug a try (e.g., Sibelium) won't hurt unless you have some sub-clinical or actual depression issues (in that case, don't even go near the stuff).

Anyway, an ENT I trust prescribed them, it worked for me, therefore I thought I might share.

 

The evaluation of tinnitus and auditory brainstem response in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo accompanied by tinnitus

Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate auditory brainstem response (ABR) in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) accompanied by tinnitus and to suggest possible interpretative hypotheses.

Methods
Ninety individuals were included in the study. Individuals were separated into three groups: patients reporting tinnitus with BPPV (Group I), patients with BPPV (Group II), and a control group. The ABR test was applied at a low and at a high rate.

Results
For patients reporting tinnitus with BPPV, tinnitus was found to be localized in the ear affected by BPPV. Tinnitus disappeared after therapeutic interventions in 23 individuals with tinnitus. The difference between the Wave V  latency at high rate and Wave V  latency at a low rate in the affected ears of all individuals with BPPV (Groups I and II) was significantly long. In the affected ears of all BPPV patients, at a high rate of ABR, the absolute latency of the Wave III was found to be significantly longer than for the control group.

Conclusions
Individuals with BPPV showed prolonged latencies in affected ears in a high rate of ABR without the effect of tinnitus. High rate of ABR in individuals with BPPV can be used to obtain preliminary information in cases where ischemia in the auditory pathways is suspected in BPPV formation.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00405-020-06413-w

 

Did Flunarizine help your tinnitus? How long did you take it for?

 

I'm curious what the treatment was? I understand ABR is a measurement, but what did they do with this information to help find "ischemia in the auditory pathways is suspected in BPPV formation"?

When I got BPPV and then tinnitus followed 2 weeks later my "tinnitus specialist" doctor straight up told me that BPPV could not cause tinnitus! Really? I pulled a study and sent it to her. "Xyz people reported tinnitus with BPPV" and was adamant that whatever happened to my inner ear causing the vertigo also caused something to my nerves in my ears. Pretty much crickets, then I was told my tinnitus was stress or hidden hearing loss.

 

Hey man, I don't know if you're still here but I've been having vertigo attacks myself and I'm scared I may have this for the rest of my life.

You haven't had any vertigo attacks now for how long?

I really need help.

 

I had BPPV in 2015 and then tinnitus in 2020. I feel like there is definitely a connection between the two. I have unilateral tinnitus and I suspect that was the ear affected by BPPV.

 

Did your BPPV go away on its own?

 

Yea, the extreme vertigo went away after a few minutes or so but balance issues persisted for about 6 months. I think the Epley maneuver helped resolve the BPPV because it hasn't returned since.

Once I got tinnitus in 2020, the balance issues returned. The severity of my tinnitus and unsteadiness seem to be related.

 

So I had my appointment at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. i told him about my symptoms and he said it was a vestibular migraine because I always feel like I'm on a boat, but then I've been doing BPPV exercises and they have helped. He did perform an Epley maneuver on me and I do feel slightly better sitting down. I'm just afraid this could become chronic.

One thing is I never spun out of control, so maybe it wasn't BPPV. I just lost my balance by a lot on my first bout and then been feeling stalwart dizziness since.

Do you think your issue will become chronic?

 

Could it be mal de debarquement? I remember reading about someone on here who had that.

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/mal-de-debarquement/

Hope you get better soon!

 

If it is BPPV and the Epley maneuver was administered, then I don't believe your balance issues will be chronic. It'll take a while until your vestibular system recalibrates and make you feel normal again. I remember after the vertigo, I had the same on the boat sensation as you described for months after. Also, I had these intense migraines that originated from the posterior neck region that worsened when I laid down.

When did your balance issues start?

 

They started last Friday. Days before though I was feeling like I was bopping my head, but it wasn't too distracting so I didn't think much but then I got news of my fatty liver and I think that may have been a shock to the nervous system. Later that Friday I smoked weed and and was just lying down relaxing and when I got up I lost a bit of my balance but I never spun, or was holding on to my guts, it was just a good loss of balance, kinda like when you have too many drinks. Since then I felt like I was son a boat and I did do a few maneuvers the wrong way which may have made it worse lol, so since then I started feeling like I was in the ocean. I'm familiar with the headache coming from my neck; I experienced it today for the first time.

But even now as I'm writing this, I don't feel nearly as bad as I did 2 days ago. That shit was hard. It was hard to pay attention to the TV, but I did do some exercises from Bob and Brad from YouTube and that shit helped bro.

It definitely was some loose crystals, because it helped. I just feel like my vestibular system went through a reset, at least I hope so.

I'm really confused but the doctor said he'll prescribe physical therapy so I hope that helps speed up the process.

Yours only happened once or has it come back? Do you think it could become chronic? Please send me positive vibes. I'm more scared of this than my fatty liver prognosis lol.

 

Did you fully recover? How long has it been for you?