[Paradigm shift in management of patients with vertigo and imbalance]

Dizziness is one of the most common causes of medical visits. Management of the dizzy patient may be challenging both for the general practitioner, in emergency departments, and special clinics, as behind a seemingly homogeneous clinical presentation several very different etiologies may occur. Research of the last two century enriched our knowledge about physiology and pathophysiology of the vestibular system. Much knowledge is now available about the labyrinth being able to sense head motions and gravity, processing of afferent vestibular stimuli, reflectory oculomotor and postural control, or recovery of the vestibular system. Based on scientific results new beside tests have been introduced including provocation maneuvers for detecting ectopic otoliths in different semicircular canals, head impulse test to examine function of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, and the HINTS+ battery for differentiation of peripheral or central origin of an acute vestibular syndrome. Technical innovations like videooculography and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials enable us to selectively and side-specifically examine the function of all six semicircular canals and two otolith organs. Pathomechanism of disorders with vertigo and dizziness became more clear resulting in the development or amendment of diagnostic criteria of several vestibular disorders including vestibular migraine, Menière's disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, persistent postural-perceptual dizziness, bilateral vestibulopathy. Broader knowledge about the pathomechanism promoted the development of new therapeutic methods like different repositioning maneuvers in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, pharmaceutical therapies, vestibular rehabilitation, and psychotherapy. We aimed to summarize the novelties in the field of oto-neurology.