What Is Vestibular Neuronitis?

Sudden attacks of vertigo and dizziness can be frightening and disorienting. The good news is that those attacks are usually the result of vestibular neuronitis (or neuritis), and the condition is easily treated by your doctor with medication.

Identification

• Each ear has a vestibular nerve in it, and those vestibular nerves transmit information to the brain regarding the movement of the head. It is this information that allows us to keep our balance.
  Vestibular neuronitis is an inflammation of one of the vestibular nerves, causing mixed information to be sent to the brain. With one vestibular nerve sending good information, and the other sending incorrect information, the person will start to experience dizziness and have episodes of vertigo.

Features

• Vestibular neuronitis can be caused by tumors or cysts in the ear, viral infections, the onset of a neurological disease, or by a decrease in the normal flow of blood to the ear.
  The vestibular nerve deals only in helping to maintain balance, so the development of vestibular neuronitis will not initially affect a person's hearing.

Considerations

• Nearly all of the cases of vestibular neuronitis experienced in the United States, as many as 9 out of every 10 cases, are one-time conditions that do not have a recurrence at any point in the person's life.
  If the condition occurs on a regular basis, then it is no longer referred to as vestibular neuronitis. It then is categorized into one of many other long-term vestibular nerve conditions.
  One of the more well-known conditions is migraine-associated vertigo, which is dizziness accompanied by severe headaches.

Potential

• The most common treatment for vestibular neuronitis is to give medication that offsets the symptoms, and then medication to remove the infection on the nerve.
  Anti-nausea and anti-dizziness medication is usually prescribed, and then a steroid treatment is commonly used to address the virus.
  A person can usually expect a successful treatment of their vestibular neuronitis.

Warning

• In some cases the effects of vestibular neuronitis can remain with the person for a very long time.
  Even for cases that have made a complete recovery, there can still be difficulty in quick motions of the head and sports that require a lot of movement for a few years after treatment. Eventually, most people make a complete recovery.
  While vestibular neuronitis does not affect hearing, if it remains untreated the infection could spread and cause vestibular labyrinths which can affect the hearing.