Dizziness: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

The ear is typically associated with hearing. However, it plays a much larger role in our daily functioning. The ear also helps us maintain our balance. In fact, one of the most common causes of loss of balance or dizziness is a blocked ear canal.

Dizziness can range from a brief moment of imbalance and light-headedness to a severe spinning sensation. In severe cases, it can also result in a black-out. To maintain one’s balance, the input is needed from the eyes, inner ear and joints of the feet and legs. These impulses are processed by the brain which sends out signals to other limbs and organs on what needs to be done to maintain balance. A disturbance in any one of the three inputs can cause dizziness or a loss of balance.

Which part of the ear is responsible for dizziness?
The structure of the ear can be categorized into an external part and an internal part. The external part of the ear is responsible for receiving sounds, amplifying them and forwarding them to the inner ear. The inner ear is shaped like a snail. It has two interconnected parts. One part helps convert sounds into electrical signals that can be transported to the brain while the other helps maintain balance. This consists of three balance canals.

These canals move in a different direction depending on the movement of the head. This part of the inner ear also contains 2 small components with sensory cells covered in small calcium crystals. These compartments help sense linear movements such as rocking, bouncing or swaying movements. If the crystals covering these compartments are dislodged, the person may lose his or her balance. A tumour in the inner ear can also lead to a loss of balance.

Meniere’s syndrome
Meniere’s syndrome is a disorder related to the inner ear. This is a common cause of dizziness and vertigo. Meniere’s syndrome usually affects only one ear. This is marked by an abnormal collection of fluid in the inner ear. Blockages in the ear canal, an allergy, stress, fatigue or a trauma are some of the common reasons why this fluid may accumulate in the ear. Dizziness caused by this disease is usually noticed in the first and second stage of this condition. In such cases, dizziness may be accompanied by a loss of hearing, ringing sensation in the ears and pressure in the affected ear.

Ear drum is a thin curtain-like tissue that separates the inner ear from the middle and outer ear. If this ear drum is somehow punctured, then that condition is referred to as an ear drum perforation. The ear drum can get perforated for a variety of reasons, but here are the major causes for the same.

Causes Of Ear Drum Perforations

1. Infection- An ear infection can alleviate into an ear drum perforation. Usually, the infected area may undergo inflammation to such a degree that it may puncture the ear drum. Normally, in case of ear drum perforations due to infections, the pus from the infection drops out of the ear.
2. Foreign object- Inserting a foreign object inside the ear in a bid to scratch or clear the area can damage the ear drum. Avoid using Q-tips and other foreign items to scratch the ear.
3. Barotrauma- This is a condition when the air pressure on the outer ear is not the same as the pressure inside the inner ear. Usually, barotrauma is caused when a plane changes altitude or in case of scuba divers when they make the dive deep down.
4. Injury- Injury resulting from head trauma or a slap across the ear can sometimes cause the ear drum to rupture as well.

Symptoms of Ear Drum Perforation
Everyone does not experience the typical symptoms that are associated with a perforated ear drum. Most people do not notice it at once, but may visit the doctor after several days of discomfort. People who have a perforated ear drum may also notice air coming out of their ears when they blow their nose. This happens as the forceful blow of air causes the air to rise inside the ear cavity and come out through the opening in the ear drum. Apart from these symptoms, pain in the ear, pus discharge, hearing loss and dizziness may also be caused due to the condition.

Treatment for Ear Drum Perforation
Ear drum perforation does not require a specific kind of treatment to heal. This is because the condition gets repaired by itself within a couple of months. Doctors may, at the most, prescribe antibiotics to ensure that the ear does not get infected prior to complete healing. If the condition is extremely painful, doctors may also prescribe certain over-the-counter pain medications to you. In some rare cases, surgery may be needed in order to completely mend the perforated ear drum.  In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

A holter is a a 24-48 hour hour ECG that is used to evaluate disturbances in the rhythm of your heart. A holter monitor is a little, battery controlled therapeutic gadget that measures your heart's actions, for example, rate and cadence. Your specialist may request that you utilize one, in case that they require more data about how your heart functions, that a normal electrocardiogram (EKG) cannot give them. Twenty four hour holter monitoring is an important test to record your heart's rate and cadence for twenty four hours. 

You wear the holter small monitor for twelve to forty-eight hours as you continue with your usual everyday routine. This gadget has cathodes and electrical leads like a standard ECG. It can get your heart's rate and beat as well as when you feel neck pains or display indications of an unpredictable pulse or arrhythmia. 

Here is how it usually works:

1. The holter monitor is very small. It is marginally bigger than a deck of playing cards. A few leads or wires, are attached to your body like an ECG. The leads connect with cathodes that are put on the skin of your chest with a paste like gel. The metal anodes direct your heart's movement through the wires and into the holter screen. 
2. You wear a little pocket around your neck that holds the recorder. It is important to keep the monitor near your body during the testing time frame to ensure the readings are precise. 
3. You will get guidelines that disclose how to deal with your monitor and what not to do while you are wearing it. It is vital to abstain from activities, such as washing, exercising, or running, while you are wearing the screen.
4. You are urged to take an interest in your typical routine during the holter twenty-four-hour test. You will be coordinated to record your routine in a journal. 
5. A 24-hour holter test is effortless. Make sure to record any pain, fast pulse, or other cardiovascular symptoms you have during the testing period. Keep the Holter dry to guarantee it works properly. Scrub down or shower before your arrangement to have the screen fitted and do not apply any moisturizers or creams. Stay away from exercises that may lead to the screen getting wet.
6. Electrical fields may meddle with the capacity of the holter screen. Keep away from zones of high voltage while wearing the screen. 

The results can somewhat be determined as follows: 

1. After the suggested testing time allotment has passed, you will come back to your specialist's office to have the holter monitor removed. Your specialist will read your movement and examine the aftereffects of the screen. Depending upon the results of the test, you may need to experience additional testing before a conclusion is made.
2. The holter monitor may uncover underlying disturbances in your heart rate that may go unnoticed and will help your doctor in treatment of the condition. This is an a very informative and useful tests specially if you have irregular heart beats, fast heart beats, unexplained dizziness or fainting.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Dizziness is now a very common problem among the adults. Maybe people do not take this to be a serious problem in many of the cases, but repeated feeling of dizziness may lead them to visit a doctor. When in the case of such situation, you visit a general physician, not knowing the causes of such problem; often the doctor will refer you to an ENT. There have been some reasons of why you should visit an ENT for dizziness.

Symptoms of Dizziness

Often dizziness occurs along with some other symptoms too. Some of the symptoms that are accompanied by dizziness are:

• Anxiety
• Nausea
• Buzzing noise in the ears
• Pressure in the ears and the head
• Hearing issues

Some Important Reasons for Dizziness
If you are facing dizziness on regular grounds, then it may happen that it is due to some very serious health complications that you are suffering from. Some of the problems that may cause dizziness are:
Inner ear issues,

• Issues in the central nervous system,
• Issues related to the cardiovascular system,
• Bacterial or viral infection,
• Side effects of any medicine.

Diagnosis of The Problem
Diagnosis of the problem is the most important step in case of dizziness. It is because the diagnosis is not about whether you are feeling dizzy or not, it is the diagnosis about why you are feeling dizzy. There are some tests related to balance to diagnose the cause of dizziness. To get the tests done related to balance, you need to visit an ENT because the balance system of the human body is there located in the inner ear.

Treatment of The Problem
After several tests of various sensory organs, when the ENT expert reaches a particular result, then the treatment starts depending upon the diagnosis. Today treatment for such balance disorder or dizziness has become common. Some problems can get solved by a changed diet only while other may need the help of medicines. Again, some of the problems may get cured by doing exercises while for some; you may need the help of a physiotherapist too.

When it is about dizziness, it is surely about balance disorder due to some major problems. Balance is controlled from with the inner eye and other sensory organs also, hence it is important to visit the ENT in this case. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ent Specialist.

Atrial fibrillation is a form of irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia, which you may experience due to a problem in the electrical system of the heart. Such a problem causes the upper parts of the heart or the atria to fibrillate. Due to this quivering, the normal rhythm between the lower parts of the heart and the atria gets disrupted. The ventricles are likely to beat faster in an irregular rhythm. This is a severe condition where the blood may get collected in the atria; this could lead to the formation of blood clots. These clots can block the blood flow and lead to a stroke.

Causes
Several conditions cause strain and damage to the heart. These include the following:

1. High blood pressure or hypertension
2. Heart attack
3. Valvular diseases
4. Coronary artery disease
5. Medical problems like heart failure, lung diseases, high level of thyroid or pneumonia
6. Heart surgeries
7. Excess consumption of alcohol

Symptoms
The primary symptoms of atrial fibrillation include the following:

1. Light-headedness and dizziness
2. Shortness of breath
3. Feeling weak and fatigued
4. Feeling as if the heart is pounding, fluttering or racing (known as palpitations)
5. Feeling that the beating of the heart is uneven
6. Chest pain and fainting

In many cases of atrial fibrillation, the symptoms may be absent.

Diagnosis
Conducting several tests, physical examinations and an analysis of your health history is the first step towards diagnosing atrial fibrillation. An electrocardiogram (ECG) needs to be carried out for the detection of this condition. This test is performed for checking problems regarding the electrical activity of the heart. Other laboratory tests and an echocardiogram maybe required as well. An echocardiogram helps in observing the pumping function of the heart and to check whether the valves have been damaged.

Treatment
The treatment options for atrial fibrillation depend on the cause, symptoms and the risks of getting a stroke. Several medicines are used for treatment along with other methods. They are as follows:

1. Blood thinning medicines for the prevention of a stroke.
2. Heart rate control medicines which will prevent irregular beating of the heart.
3. Rhythm control medicines for restoring the heart’s rhythm to normal.
4. A process known as cardioversion may be used to bring the heartbeat to a normal rhythm. This can be carried out by medicines or an electric shock therapy known as electrical cardioversion.
5. In case of severe symptoms, ablation may be carried out where the affected areas of the heart are destroyed by the creation of a scar tissue.

For the best diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation, you must consult a doctor as soon as you start experiencing the symptoms of the condition. A doctor will prescribe all that you need for an effective treatment.