Vertigo is a symptom rather than a condition. There are many causes of vertigo and it can be experienced by people of all ages. Vertigo is defined as an illusion of movement and is a specific type of dizziness which causes the person to feel the sensation that they, or their surroundings, are moving even if they are standing completely still.
Some people describe vertigo as feeling ‘wobbly’ or the sensation of spinning, swaying and dizziness. Episodes of vertigo can vary from seconds or minutes to a couple of hours, bouts of vertigo, however, can last for days.
In vestibular disorders, the balance organ in the inner ear is affected. As the balance organ is faulty, the brain becomes more dependent on information coming from the eyes and sensors in your body. This makes you much more sensitive to situations which can cause dizziness, such as disorientating environments and times when you are under stress. Not all the symptoms of dizziness experienced will be due to the balance organ; some will be caused because the balance system cannot cope with the situation you are in. The balance system works by coordinating information in your brain from the three senses used for balance. If you feel dizzy, it means that your brain has not been able to coordinate the information from all the balance senses properly.
The Balance System
