Ending Vertigo Today

Ask the Doctor: Half Somersault tip

When using the Half Somersault maneuver for BPPV, do you keep your eyes open like you do during the Epley maneuver?

Both of these maneuvers are used to treat BPPV, the form of vertigo that lasts for several seconds and is set off by rolling over in bed or arising quickly. When health care providers do an Epley maneuver, they will ask you to keep your eyes open. This allows the provider to see if your eyes are moving (nystagmus). The way your eyes move helps them prove whether your vertigo is due to BPPV or to another cause. The nystagmus of the most common form of BPPV is quite violent, with the eyes appearing to “beat” upward and twisting in an arc for several seconds. If the provider sees this, they will be assured that doing an Epley maneuver has a good chance of resolving the problem. Keeping your eyes open is only for them—it doesn’t do you any good.

Virtual Reality Headsets and Visual Dizziness

As more and more people engage in VR gaming, an unfortunate side effect has become clear: it can make you feel very dizzy, even to the point of feeling queasy. Why in the metaverse does this happen, and what can help reduce this problem?

Do you get dizzy from heights?

Dizziness sometimes crops up in people with perfectly normal balance systems. Motion sickness is an example of this, but there are other forms, too. Your inner ears constantly detect whether or not your head is moving, but your eyes also do this. As you turn your head, your eyes move to counter-balance the head movement, and then jump forward to focus on the world again. This is a form of normal, physiologic nystagmus. Your arms and legs also detect movement and feed back to your brain to help you maintain balance by controlling sway. A problem occurs if the head motion detected by the inner ears does not match what is coming in from vision or the body. Height vertigo is a very common manifestation of this problem.