When should you see a doctor about vertigo?

Vertigo is a sensation that you or your surroundings are moving. Brief episodes triggered by turning in bed can occur with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inner-ear inflammation, Meniere's disease, a middle-ear infection, and migraine can produce different combinations of spinning, imbalance, ear symptoms, nausea, or headache. The timing and triggers matter more than the word dizziness alone.

Sit or lie down when spinning begins, rise slowly, and avoid driving, heights, and machinery until you know how the episodes affect you. Keep a note of duration, triggers, hearing changes, headache, vomiting, and medicines. Move carefully and have someone nearby if balance is poor. A clinician can decide whether an examination or an Epley manoeuvre is suitable.

Call emergency services for sudden vertigo with facial drooping, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, new double vision, inability to walk, fainting, a severe unusual headache, or chest pain. Seek prompt care for new hearing loss, repeated vomiting, severe headache, or vertigo after a head injury.

Ask whether the pattern points to an inner-ear problem, migraine, or another cause; whether hearing or balance tests are needed; and which movements or activities are safe during recovery.