Although prednisone or other types of steroids may be given and could help hasten recovery, it is not conclusively proved that these medications benefit in the final outcome. Health Home Conditions and Diseases. Labyrinthitis and Vestibular Neuritis Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Pinterest Share via Email Print this Page Brain, Nerves and Spine Infectious Diseases Labyrinthitis is an inflammatory or infectious condition that affects the labyrinth the balance and hearing organs within the inner ear and causes prolonged vertigo and hearing loss.
What You Need to Know Sometimes the conditions can follow a viral respiratory or other infection, and can occasionally be associated with a herpes virus herpes zoster or shingles — or even Lyme disease or other organisms in rare cases. If you have parosmia, you may experience a loss of scent….
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Vestibular Neuritis. Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M. Vestibular neuritis vs. What are the symptoms? What causes it? How is it diagnosed? How is it treated? Recovery time for this condition. Living with vestibular neuritis.
Read this next. Vertigo and Vertigo-Associated Disorders. Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. Treatments for Dizziness. There is currently no way to predict whether or not it will come back.
Symptoms of viral neuritis can be mild or severe, ranging from subtle dizziness to a violent spinning sensation vertigo. They can also include nausea, vomiting, unsteadiness and imbalance, difficulty with vision, and impaired concentration. Sometimes the symptoms can be so severe that they affect the ability to stand up or walk. Onset of symptoms is usually very sudden, with severe dizziness developing abruptly during routine daily activities.
In other cases, the symptoms are present upon awakening in the morning. The sudden onset of such symptoms can be very frightening; many people go to the emergency room or visit their physician on the same day.
After a period of gradual recovery that may last several weeks, some people are completely free of symptoms. Others have chronic dizziness if the virus has damaged the vestibular nerve.
Without necessarily understanding the reason, they may observe that everyday activities are fatiguing or uncomfortable, such as walking around in a store, using a computer, being in a crowd, standing in the shower with their eyes closed, or turning their head to converse with another person at the dinner table.
Therefore, a process of elimination is often necessary to diagnose the condition. Because the symptoms of an inner ear virus often mimic other medical problems, a thorough examination is necessary to rule out other causes of dizziness, such as stroke, head injury, cardiovascular disease, allergies, side effects of prescription or nonprescription drugs including alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and many illegal drugs , neurological disorders, and anxiety. When other illnesses have been ruled out and the symptoms have been attributed to vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis, medications are often prescribed to control nausea and to suppress dizziness during the acute phase.
Other medications that may be prescribed are steroids e. If nausea has been severe enough to cause excessive dehydration, intravenous fluids may be given. If treated promptly, many inner ear infections cause no permanent damage.
In some cases, however, permanent loss of hearing can result, ranging from barely detectable to total. Permanent damage to the vestibular system can also occur. Positional dizziness or BPPV Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo can also be a secondary type of dizziness that develops from neuritis or labyrinthitis and may recur on its own chronically.
Labyrinthitis may also cause endolymphatic hydrops abnormal fluctuations in the inner ear fluid called endolymph to develop several years later. If symptoms persist, further testing may be appropriate to help determine whether a different vestibular disorder is in fact the correct diagnosis, as well as to identify the specific location of the problem within the vestibular system.
These additional tests will usually include an audiogram hearing test ; and electronystagmography ENG or videonystagmography VNG , which may include a caloric test to measure any differences between the function of the two sides. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials VEMP may also be suggested to detect damage in a particular portion of the vestibular nerve. Physicians and audiologists will review test results to determine whether permanent damage to hearing has occurred and whether hearing aids may be useful.
They may also consider treatment for tinnitus if it is present. The vertigo may be less intense if you lie down and close your eyes but doesn't go away completely.
It is often made worse by sitting up, moving your head, or moving around. In milder cases the vertigo is less intense but you feel unsteady when moving or walking around.
Symptoms of a viral vestibular neuritis or viral labyrinthitis can last anything from a few days to several weeks. A typical case is for symptoms to be bad for weeks and then gradually to settle down over several days. There may be some slight unsteadiness for months before symptoms clear completely.
However, in a small number of cases, symptoms can persist for months or years. In these cases, the viral infection will have gone but the inflammation and damage caused by the infection may cause persisting symptoms. If you have a typical episode of vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis due to infection with a germ a viral infection then your doctor will usually be able to diagnose this on the basis of your symptoms and the examination.
Tests are not usually needed or helpful. However, you may be referred for tests such as a scan, hearing tests, balance tests, etc, if you have symptoms that suggest anything other than a viral infection, or if symptoms are not settling within weeks.
If you have a sudden attack of vertigo accompanied by deafness in one ear you should seek urgent medical help, as this could be a sign of blockage of the blood vessels to part of the brain and you may need urgent treatment. No treatment will completely take away the symptoms - especially the main symptom of vertigo. You may simply have to accept that you will be dizzy and may need to stay in bed until the vertigo runs its course and the worst of the symptoms subside. A doctor may prescribe anti-sickness medication if you are troubled with being sick vomiting.
Some medicines also help to quieten the nerve messages from the inner ear and may ease vertigo - for example, prochlorperazine. If you need to take medication, only take it for a few days.
Taking medication for longer seems to stop the body from recovering from the vertigo as quickly as it would if you don't take the medication.
It is also important to get up and about as soon as you can, even if it makes you dizzy. This is for the same reason. Occasionally, some people become so lacking in fluid in the body dehydrated due to the vomiting that goes with vertigo that they need to be admitted to hospital. In hospital, a 'drip' fluid through a vein can be put in place until the vomiting stops.
If symptoms do not clear within a few weeks then you may be referred to an ear specialist who may recommend treatment called vestibular rehabilitation therapy VRT. This therapy uses physical and occupational therapy techniques to treat vertigo and balance disorders. Treatment of other less common causes depends on the cause. Your doctor will advise. For example, if you have an infection with a germ bacterium in your middle ear you may be prescribed antibiotic medication.
A bout of vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis can make you feel very unwell and you may have to go to bed.
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