[Sudden vertigo--differential diagnosis and therapy in peripheral vestibular (inner ear-induced) forms]

The most important forms of inner ear disorders manifesting as sudden vertigo may be distinguished by the duration of the vertiginous spells: sudden vertigo, diminishing during days = acute peripheral vestibulopathy, recurrent spells lasting for hours = Ménière's disease, recurrent vertigo lasting for minutes = "vascular', recurrent positioning-induced vertigo lasting for seconds = benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo (BPPV). In the last years, major progress was made in the treatment of BPPV. Based on new ideas on the underlying pathomechanism, this most common form of vestibular vertigo now can be treated definitively in most patients within a few minutes by a simple maneuver (canalith reposition maneuver by Epley/Parnes). This procedure is presented in this paper.