my son who is twenty has been having episodes of dizziness off and on for about eight months now. when he first visited the gp he said it eas coming from his ear. yesterday he saw another gp who tested his ears, eyes, and neuro obs. doesn't know what it is and has ordered blood tests. anyone else been through this nancy

Hi Nancy,

Well 99.5% of the people who come on this site are suffering from some kind of dizziness. Some of us know the cause and others have never had a diagnosis. Dizziness can be caused by so many things. Could you tell us how your son's dizziness started. How does he describe his dizziness (ex: spinning, lightheadedness, unbalance). Does he get dizzy only with certain movements, or is it more a 24/7 dizziness. Look at the first thread called "Information archive", you will get more details on different types of dizziness.

One thing we discover through our illness is that not many doctors are very knowledgeable when it comes to inner ear problems. The type of doctors that know the most would be a neuro-otologist not to get confused with a neurOLOGIST.

A lot of people on this site are very knowledgeable on this subject. I'm sure you will get some answers.

he says it feels as if the room is spinning. the attacks last for a few seconds at a time. they can be there for a week and then disappear for a few months. he also says he cant focus properly during an attack. never has any nausea or sickness

Are his attacks provoked by a certain head movement - for example when lying down, turning his head to one side, looking up?

Does he have any auditory symptoms, such as hearing loss or tinnitus (temporarilly during the attack or permenant?) , how about a history of migraine?

seems that the attacks happen at any time. no hearing loss.

no hearing problems although he says that the other night he had a loud roaring sound during one of the episodes. it can happen anytime . doesnt seem to be caused in any particular position.

Is most prob inner ear related - the main ones for episodic dizziness such as this are: Menieres, MAV and possibly BPPV. Do a search on these and see which one fits. A Neurotologist is who he should really see.

xxx

Ditto - CL, a neurotologist should be able to help...

A lot of people with menieres type problems report roaring noises before and during attacks (but that kind of thing is common in the general population anyway).. while it may or may not be the cause of your sons problems it may be worth mentioning to you doctor.

no hearing loss or migraine. doesnt even suffer from headaches. blood tests are all normal