If you've been feeling dizzy, or your doctor is concerned about your balance, it's very important that you have these symptoms examined. At the very least, dizziness can be disorienting and uncomfortable, making it harder to enjoy your everyday life. Even more seriously, balance issues can lead to falls, which can lead to injury. Fortunately, many forms of dizziness and vertigo can be treated so that you can go right back to making the most of life.
In addition to diagnosing and treating hearing loss, Physician's Choice Hearing and Dizziness Center serves people who have been experiencing vestibular (vertigo) disorders. Our team of audiologists includes Dr. Jeff Clark, who specializes in these issues and whose expertise has helped thousands of individuals in the Tampa area.
Dizziness and vertigo are usually caused by an inner ear imbalance. We have the technology in our clinic to do full diagnostic testing, which enables us to determine what kind of imbalance you're experiencing as well as what treatment may be available for you. Once we better understand the problems you're facing, we have the expertise to put you on a treatment regimen - sometimes medical treatment, sometimes physical therapy. In many cases, we can resolve the problem the same day you come for diagnostic treatment, right here in our office.
It may seem surprising that hearing specialists can treat vestibular disorders, but in fact many of these symptoms are related to the inner ear, a crucial part of your hearing system that is responsible for your sense of balance. Whether something is not right in your inner ear (for example, due to fluid buildup or inflammation), your circulatory system (blood vessels), or your brain's ability to process the information it receives from your balance system, vertigo and dizziness can be extremely uncomfortable. Vertigo may be caused by infections, Meniere's disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), injury, or medications.
Just as there are many causes of vertigo and dizziness, there are different treatment plans. In some cases, vertigo or dizziness will go away on their own because your brain learns to work around any abnormalities in your inner ear. If your vertigo is caused by calcium deposits in your ear canal, a simple series of head and body movements can help the body remove those deposits and restore your sense of equilibrium. If your vertigo comes and goes, but it shows no sign of disappearing altogether, physical therapy can help the rest of your senses compensate for your vertigo. Vertigo is sometimes a symptom of a more serious problem, in which case treatment of the underlying problem can resolve the vertigo.