The Room That Wouldn’t Sit Still – A Story About BPPV
The Room That Wouldn’t Sit Still – A Story About BPPV
It starts like a normal day.
You roll over in bed to check the time…
—and suddenly the room spins like you just got off a roller coaster.
You freeze.
“Okay… that was weird.”
A few seconds later, it stops. You feel completely normal again.
Later, you look up to grab a mug from the cupboard—
and there it is again. Spinning.
Now you’re thinking:
“Something is definitely not right.”
If this sounds familiar, you might be dealing with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV).
A Name Only a Doctor Could Love
Let’s translate that long name:
- Benign = not dangerous
- Paroxysmal = comes on suddenly
- Positional = triggered by head movement
- Vertigo = a false sense of spinning
So in plain English:
Sudden spinning caused by moving your head.
Even though it’s called “benign,” it doesn’t feel harmless. It can make simple things—like getting out of bed—feel like a challenge.
What’s Actually Going On?
Inside your inner ear are tiny calcium crystals that help control your balance.
Sometimes, these crystals come loose and drift into the wrong place.
When you move your head, they shift around and send the wrong signal to your brain—
making it feel like you’re spinning, even when you’re perfectly still.
The Classic “Uh Oh” Moments
People with BPPV often notice spinning when:
- Rolling in bed
- Getting up or lying down
- Looking up or down
- Bending over
The spinning usually lasts less than a minute, and you feel normal in between.
Who Is More Likely to Get It?
BPPV can happen to anyone, but it’s more common in:
- Adults over 50
- People who’ve had a head injury
- People with migraines
- People with inner ear conditions
Women are affected more often than men, especially after menopause. Bone health (like osteoporosis) may also play a role.
The Good News: It’s Treatable
BPPV is one of the most treatable causes of vertigo.
A physiotherapist trained in vestibular therapy can use specific head movements (called maneuvers) to guide the crystals back where they belong.
When the right maneuver is used, many people feel better in just one or two sessions.
But here’s something important that many people don’t realize:
There are different types of BPPV, depending on where the crystals are stuck—and each type requires a different maneuver.
If the wrong maneuver is used, the crystals can move to another part of the ear.
That’s when symptoms seem to “change”—for example, looking up may feel better, but rolling in bed suddenly triggers dizziness.
Why Proper Diagnosis Matters (This Is Key)
Not all dizziness is BPPV—and not all BPPV is the same.
This is where accurate assessment becomes critical.
At Momentum Therapy, clinicians use infrared goggles to carefully observe how your eyes move in darkness while your head is placed in specific positions.
Why does this matter?
Your inner ear and your eyes are closely connected. When the inner ear is affected, it causes very specific, tiny eye movements that are often too subtle to see with the naked eye.
Infrared goggles allow clinicians to:
- See these small eye movements clearly
- Identify which ear is affected
- Pinpoint exactly which type of BPPV you have
- Choose the correct treatment maneuver
Without this technology, it can be much harder to make an accurate diagnosis—
and that increases the chance of using the wrong treatment.
One Last Thing
BPPV is common—but it’s not the only cause of dizziness.
Other causes can include:
- Migraine-related dizziness
- Neck-related dizziness
- More serious conditions, like certain types of stroke
That’s why it’s important to get assessed by a qualified professional.
Final Thought
If your world spins when you roll over, look up, or lie down, it might just be a few tiny crystals causing big problems.
The good news? With the right diagnosis—and the right tools, like infrared goggles—those crystals can be guided back where they belong.
And at Momentum Therapy, that’s exactly what the team is trained to do.
Aaron Cheung -Vestibular Physiotherapist