Dizziness: behavioural, subjective and organic aspects

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between medical and behavioural aspects of dizziness, and the subjective experiences before, during and after an 'attack'. Clinical and self-report data were collected on 60 patients who attended a neuro-otology clinic and whose main complaint was dizziness. The results indicated little direct correlation between subjective experience and organic severity, though there was some correlation between types of movement provocation and both subjective and organic factors. Correspondence analysis of self-reported dizzy sensations revealed four principal clusters. There was a clear distinction between attacks characterized by sensations of actual loss of balance and those preceded by autonomic sensations. Two types of mainly psychologically generated dizziness were proposed: one characterized by inhibition of sensory-motor processes and breathing problems; the other by a range of sympathetic signs. It is suggested that the reporting of sensations should be considered as an independent part of dizziness behaviour and not as a by-product of the physiological disturbance.