Recurrent paroxysmal positional vertigo related to oral contraceptive treatment

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a high-prevalence vestibular end-organ disorder caused by the detachment of utricular otoconia which float in the posterior or lateral semicircular canal. In the majority of cases the etiology of BPPV is unknown and it may follow viral infection, vascular disorders or head trauma. BPPV may be recurrent, with some authors demonstrating a correlation between recurrence and female gender. We report herein on ten cases (out of 289 diagnoses of BPPV) of recurrent idiopathic BPPV, occurring in healthy women receiving oral contraceptive treatment, which ceased after treatment suspension. It has been hypothesized that the impaired water and electrolyte balance, the variations of endolymphatic pH and the impairment of glucose or lipid metabolism induced by oral contraceptive treatment may cause otoconial degeneration and subsequent otoconia detachment and BPPV. The rarity of the finding (10/289) could account for the poor attention paid to the hormonal pathogenesis of BPPV.