[Psychosomatic vertigo disorders]

Somatoform vertigo is one of the most frequent forms of vertigo, alongside neuropathia vestibularis and benign peripheral positional vertigo. False diagnoses often lead to patients suffering from symptoms for periods of months or even years, which imposes significant limitations on their working and private lives. An early interdisciplinary diagnosis and the consequent timely commencement of a specific psychosomatic therapy is thus essential. Somatoform vertigo can be caused by many different psychological disorders. The clinical symptomatology, diagnosis and differential diagnosis are described and illustrated by case vignettes. Risk factors and preventive measures are briefly summarized.