Dizziness can be a serious health problem. Experts say we need to learn more about it

Joyce Pinsker couldn’t understand what was happening the first time she felt seriously dizzy.

‘It was Christmas [in 2001]and I was busy getting ready, and I leaned over to get something out of the refrigerator, and I immediately got really, really dizzy,” Pinsker shared. The current one host Matt Galloway.

“I couldn’t walk, and it passed in about a minute, and I was like, ‘what is that?'”

When Pinsker felt the alarming sensation again a few days later, she went to her doctor and was diagnosed with vestibular disorder.

That’s what the non-profit organization Balance & Dizziness Canada estimates more than six million Canadians will experience dizziness at some point in their lives, and say the symptom is usually an indicator of a problem with the vestibular system.

The vestibular system helps maintain a sense of balance, and its main components are located in the inner ear.

“It sends information to the brain whether we’re moving or not,” says Erica Zaia, a vestibular audiologist in Vancouver, and president of Balance & Dizziness Canada.

‘If there is a disruption in the [inner ear’s] sensors, dizziness may occur.”

Common causes of these disturbances include poor circulation in the ear, head injuries, infections, and other problems medicines with side effects that damage the inner ear.

Zaia says dizziness can affect many aspects of a person’s life, including their productivity at work, social interactions and relationships, travel and cognitive skills.

“I have a lot of patients, and mostly intelligent women who are high performers. They sit down and cry and say, ‘Suddenly I feel stupid, I can’t think, I can’t function intellectually,'” Zaia said. .

Despite its prevalence and negative impact on a person’s quality of life, experts and patients say there is currently a lack of awareness regarding vertigo disorders, which is preventing patients from getting the treatment they need.

Not taken seriously

Although Pinsker’s GP had experienced vertigo disorders before, she said that “taking symptoms seriously from the start is something that needs to be done by more GPs.”

Due to the nature of vertigo, Zaia says patients often feel like they are being dismissed by healthcare professionals.

“[Patients] saying, ‘I look good, but I’m not doing well. I’m really, really sick. It’s an invisible condition where other people just don’t know how awful it feels to be in your head, living in your body and trying to move,” she said.

At the same time, patients may also ignore the symptoms themselves.

“Generally speaking, a lot of people live with it. It doesn’t seem that serious. It doesn’t seem to have the same optics… [such as] with cardiovascular disease, transplantation,” says Dr. John Rutka, an otolaryngologist in Toronto.

Rutka directs the Hertz Clinic for Meniere’s Disease and Vestibular Dysfunction at Toronto General Hospital.

It is a ‘dizziness clinic’ with a multidisciplinary clinical team dealing with the complexities of dizziness disorders, including neurotologists, neurologists, psychiatrists and physiotherapists.

“We’re doing a full assessment of that person. We’re leaving no stone unturned,” Rutka said.

Complexity of vertigo

Compared to other organs in the body, the invisibility of the vestibular system – its small size and obscure location – has made it a topic in the medical field where understanding of it is constantly developing and evolving.

In fact, medical professionals today are still learning new things about the system through discoveries made possible by technological advances. More breakthroughs in this area could contribute to better diagnosis and treatment of patients with dizziness disorders.

“The vestibular system is meant to be silent in the body. It’s meant to be effortless [like] I just get up and walk,” Zaia said. “That’s part of the reason why many healthy people and even healthcare professionals don’t always think about it.”

In addition to the physical makeup that makes the system complicated to understand, the way it functions is also complicated.

“It starts with the sensors in the inner ear for balance, [but] it also communicates with the eyes, body and brain for balance.”

Zaia called for more healthcare funding from the provincial government to establish more comprehensive vestibular testing, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation centres, as well as more support from the federal government to help every province and territory.

She also says that more education programs on vertigo could encourage medical providers to better specialize in the field, and also contribute to more progress in understanding vestibular disorders.

‘Then I got hope’

Tammy Spencer is from Timmins, Ontario, and she is a patient of Rutka. After Rutka’s examination, she was introduced to Shaleen Sulway, a physiotherapist from the clinic.

They have been working together since October last year, with Sulway teaching and involving Spencer in balance and eye exercises.

Under her care, Spencer said she has seen improvements in her symptoms.

“Last year I felt like I was in a really deep dream or really drunk 100 percent of the time,” Spencer said. “I thought to myself, ‘How will I ever get back to normal?'”

After meeting Sulway through the clinic, Spencer said, “That’s when I got hope. If anyone understands, they can help me, and she did. I look forward to a 100 percent recovery.”

“I’m only 46, I want to live my life like I used to. I just need to get over this hump, that’s all.”