Vertigo
A false sensation that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving.
What it means
Vertigo is an illusion of movement — the sense that you or the room is spinning, tilting or rocking when neither is.
It is not a fear of heights, despite the popular usage, and it is not the same as light-headedness. This distinction genuinely matters: light-headedness on standing points towards blood pressure or the heart, whereas true spinning points towards the inner ear or the brain.
Common causes include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (brief spinning on turning in bed or looking up), vestibular neuritis (severe, constant, lasting days) and Ménière's disease (spinning with hearing loss and tinnitus).
In practice
Nystagmus — involuntary rhythmic eye movement — is the objective sign accompanying vertigo, and its direction helps localise the cause.
The Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre diagnoses BPPV, and the Epley manoeuvre treats it, frequently within a single session.
Why it matters
Most vertigo originates in the inner ear and settles. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises help more than medication, and prochlorperazine should not be continued beyond a few days because it delays the brain's own compensation.
Vertigo with new deafness, double vision, slurred speech, severe headache, weakness or difficulty walking suggests a cause in the brain and needs emergency assessment.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026