BPPV Test: How To Diagnose Vertigo

Physical Therapy & Testing For Vertigo

BPPV, or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, is one of the most common forms of vertigo. If you think you might be suffering from BPPV, here’s a simple at-home test you can take to check your symptoms. Below, learn more about BPPV and its symptoms, causes, and treatment options—including how physical therapy can help.

BPPV Diagnosis: A VertigoTest You Can Do at Home

In this video, Mike from ATI Physical Therapy in Munster South, IN gives helpful tips to perform a vertigo test by yourself. If you're feeling dizzy when lying down or getting out of bed, you should perform a BPPV test to check whether you're suffering from benign paroxysmal  positional vertigo. Further steps might also include physical therapy for vertigo to alleviate the symptoms.

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An edited video transcript follows:

Hi, this is Mike from ATI Physical Therapy in Munster South. Have you ever gotten dizzy when you went to lay down in bed, or when you were rolling over in bed, or getting out of bed? Well then you may have a condition called BPPV... benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

How to Perform a Vertigo Test Yourself:

1. Get in what we call the long sitting position with two or three pillows behind you. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right or left. It doesn't matter which way you do first

2. Quickly lower yourself down over those pillows. You're still turned to the right and your head is tipped over the pillows. 

3. Stay there for thirty seconds. If you're feeling dizzy during this time, or the room is actually spinning, then you may have BPPV in your posterior canal in your inner ear.

How to Tell Which Ear is Causing Vertigo

1. After testing your first ear , wait about one minute, then test the other ear. This is how to tell which ear is causing vertigo. 

2. Sit with your head turned 45 degrees to the left (or the opposite way you went last time). Go back quickly, and make sure your head is tipped over these pillows. Be sure to use enough pillows to make sure you're tipped back, it's very important. 

3. Stay there for thirty seconds and you're looking for the same thing, if you get dizzy in this position. 

4. After thirty seconds, you come up.

Usually, you'll be dizzy coming down in one position, but not the other position. Also, most people will get actual spinning of the room in this position. This will, in other words, reproduce your symptoms.

After this test, if you think you may have BPPV, you can stop in at any ATI location for a complimentary screening to confirm or rule out a BPPV diagnosis

Read on to learn more about BPPV and what physical therapy for vertigo at ATI can do for you.

What is BPPV?

BPPV is a disorder caused by a problem within the inner ear. It’s one of the most common causes of vertigo—the feeling that the room or environment is spinning around you. BPPV causes brief periods (usually less than one minute) of mild to intense dizziness, caused by movement like lying down, changing positions, or getting out of bed. 

• Looking up or down

• Sudden head movement

• Tilting the head

• Lying down or getting out of bed

• Rolling in bed

• Changing positions 

• Bending forward

BPPV is not serious or life-threatening. But a BPPV diagnosis can be scary, and BPPV symptoms can be downright annoying. For older individuals, the dizziness caused by BPPV may cause dangerous falls. 

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Symptoms

Symptoms range from mild to severe. The most common BPPV symptoms are: 

• Dizziness caused by a change in position

• Sudden dizziness that lasts only a few seconds or up to a minute

• Imbalance

• Light-headedness or feeling faint

• Vertigo 

• Nausea

• Vomiting

BPPV Causes

When naturally occurring calcium carbonate crystals (otoconia) shift in the ear and get trapped within the semicircular ear canals—that’s BPPV. Often, no specific cause is found, but studies have shown the following most frequent drivers:

• Wear and tear (degeneration) on your inner ear, often from aging 

• Head injury, as minimal as whiplash

• Trauma, often related to dental or facial surgery

• Illness

• Migraine 

• Ototoxic medications 

Can BPPV Go Away On Its Own? 

Over time, BPPV symptoms may go away on their own. But BPPV treatment with a physical therapist is simple, effective, and gets you feeling better faster. Make an appointment with ATI and start your treatment right now.

BPPV Physical Therapy 

If you determine you have BPPV or receive a BPPV diagnosis, you may want to consider BPPV physical therapy. Most people with BPPV find alleviation through physical therapy involving simple and specific maneuvers that move the head and body. The goal with this treatment is to get the crystals floating in your semicircular canals back into the right area in your inner ear. Your physical therapist will first confirm BPPV diagnosis, then evaluate your personal symptoms and determine which treatment is best for you.