BPPV

What is BPPV?

BPPV stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and it’s a condition of the inner ear that can cause dizziness. BPPV is one of the main causes of vertigo, and it’s often triggered by specific head movements.

What these movements are may differ from person to person, but it’s often movements that cause your head to move suddenly, such as laying down, standing up, stooping, or bending forwards.

Who gets BPPV?

Anyone can get BPPV, but it’s more common in women, or people between the ages of 50 and 70.^[1] It can appear following a head injury, ear surgery, or an episode of any condition that affects the inner ear, such as Meniere’s disease or labyrinthitis.

How common is BPPV?

BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo, and although it’s hard to pinpoint how many people have BPPV at any given time, it’s estimated that around 2.4% of the world’s population will experience it at some point in their lifetime.^[2]

Incidence also increases with age, so BPPV is much more common in older people.^[3]And although it’s highly treatable and curable, there’s around a 50% chance it’ll recur within five years.^[4]

What causes BPPV?

BPPV is thought to be caused by tiny crystals that form in the inner ear called otoconia. When your head moves, these crystals also move in the semicircular canals and agitate the fluid in your inner ear, causing symptoms of vertigo.^[1] That’s why sudden movements often trigger BPPV.

BPPV can also be caused by an infection, which is particularly likely to be the case with younger people, whilst otoconia are the most likely cause in older people.

What are the symptoms of BPPV?

BPPV is often associated with dizziness, but there are other symptoms you can experience, such as:

• vertigo (which is technically dizziness, but much stronger). It’s not unusual for people to completely lose their balance and fall over as a result of it. It usually doesn’t last long though. And if you keep your head still you’re probably going to feel better within a minute.
• nausea, which might last up to an hour after an episode, even though vertigo only usually lasts a minute. You might feel like you’re going to throw up, but that’s unusual and won’t happen regularly. If it does, you should contact your doctor so they can advise you on how to proceed.
• inability to control your eye movements. If you’re having an episode it might be helpful to keep your head still and pointing forwards whilst keeping your eyes closed.

Can BPPV lead to other problems?

BPPV usually doesn’t result in any serious complications, but the condition itself may lead to some harm (it can cause you to fall over and get hurt due to loss of balance, for example). This can happen especially often to older people who suffer from BPPV.

BPPV may also decrease your quality of life or cause emotional distress. This is why treatment is so important, because even though the condition won’t lead to any particularly worse conditions, your well-being might still be at risk.