Medical Questions » Ears Questions » Question No. 294
| Question: | I recently had a terrifying experience of extreme dizziness which reguired a week in hospital. A specialist pronounced that I was suffering from ' benign viral paroxysmal positional vertigo' . Can you interpret this medical jargon for me? I fear a further attack and would like to know its cause and treatment. |
| Answer: | Your ear comprises three parts—the outer ear, where you accumulate wax and insert cotton buds (a bad habit); the middle ear, which is beyond the ear drum and contains three tiny bones that transmit vibrations (sound) to the inner ear; and the inner ear, which is a spiral of vibration sensitive hairs. Attached to the top of the middle ear are three semicircular fluid canals. These canals control our balance, and if they fail to work well, dizziness results.
The balance mechanism can obviously be affected by infections of the ear, but infections may occur directly in the semicircular canals themselves. These infections can be viral or bacterial. Bacterial infections can be cured with antibiotics, but viral infections must be allowed to run their course, as doctors do not have any effective broad spectrum antiviral medications.
The loose translation of your doctors diagnosis of ' benign viral paroxysmal positional vertigo' would be ' a viral infection of the balance mechanism that causes intermittent dizziness when you change position, and will get better without any setious consequences' .
Too many doctors use jargon that confuses patients, if you do not understand what your doctor is saying, ask him/her to express the idea in simpler language. It never hurts to ask, and the doctor will almost certainly oblige.
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