I have vestibular balance disorder along with loud ringing and buzzing in my ears. To diagnose this I had a battery of tests with a specilist and then I had physical therapy. I still get dizzy now and then but before the therapy I was mildly dizzing and nauseous for several months.
Did they take your blood pressure while sitting, getting up suddenly and standing? What causes the dizziness is a drop in blood pressure. Unfortunately my dizziness is not that simple. Edit: I read the Internet site given by Terri. I thought positional related to the low blood pressure reaction. There is a dizziness caused by a drop in blood pressure but the BPPD is different than that. That was my diagnosis also.
I think that in physical therapy I had the movement that one poster cited. While I was lying on my back with my head over the edge of the table the physical therapist quickly and smoothly turned my head to one side and then helped me sit up quickly. Something like that. I was told that this maneuver was created to move debris that is in the ear canal and so won't work if that isn't the cause of dizziness.
I have become increasingly dizzy more often since high school. At one point it was diagnosed as Meniere's syndrome for want of any other dignosis. When I became dizzy I took a prescription medication for dizziness and nausea which helped. I think that medication while dizzy will help any kind of dizziness but I'm not sure. My dizziness has become increasingly more difficult because of my age, 65, and having fired guns on the range before they knew about ear protection. A couple of loud concerts no doubt did not help. What happens when loud noise is the cause is that the vilia?, small hairs in the canal, are destroyed. Nothing can be done for that cause, either. Physical therapy may help and I'm so glad that it helped me.
I've become so used to the ringing and static in my ear that I seldom notice it.
I was told by the doctors that positional vertigo can be at least partially eliminated by changing positions more slowly. i.e. not sitting up or standing up quickly. The web site given by Terri gives many other motions to avoid. I realize that I've avoided such things as the hair dressers basin without knowing the reason.
One response here suggested chiropractoric treatment. I tried that several times without results. In my youth I had whiplash injuries more than once. I thought that getting my neck and shoulders treated would eliminate or at least improve the dizziness. I went several different times for several treatments. It did not help. Physical therapy with a focus on treating the dizziness did help.
I found lots of info about vertigo on the Internet. The most helpful is www.vestibular.org/index.php
I am very empathic for you. Dizziness is so uncomfortable and can be debilitating when it goes on for days.
It was the Epley movement that tremendously helped me. Dr. Epley practices here in Portland. I had the other treatments mentioned in the article and they increased my dizziness. The PT said that this is usual before getting better but I had decided to quit therapy because I was crying at every appointment. The dizziness was more than I could stand. Two appointments with the Epley ended the chronic dizziness and nausea.
Now that I've read the article sited by Terry I think that I may be getting somewhat dizzy periodically because of head positions. When I asked what caused this kind of dizziness the doctor said that they didn't know. I'm glad to read that head injuries can cause it. I've been in a serious auto accident and did have head injuries that weren't so apparent at the time. My head hit the steering wheel resulting in lacerations that had to be stitched. Recently I've become friends with a therapist who works with head injury patients. She said that in an accident or even a fall the brain gets bounced around. A concussion is a head injury.
I forgot to mention that my hearing is worse in one ear. The doctor said that goes along with BPPD. This specialist did not give me much information. The technitions who ran the tests were much more helpful.
I don't know how thorough your doctor was in making this diagnosis. I complained of dizziness and nausea for years and was always told they didn't find a cause. It was only a couple of years ago that my doctor sent me to a specialist. I suspect that this sort of information and diagnosis is relatively new.
If you don't have insurance coverage for seeing a specialist I suggest that you have your physician refer you for physical therapy. One doesn't have to know the details of the diagnosis to gain benefit of physical therapy if the therapist is experienced working with dizziness.
