Understanding Vestibular Migraines:
Vestibular Migraines are unique to simple migraines since they will also involve a combination of vestibular symptoms such as vertigo, imbalance, nausea and vomiting. In fact sometimes a headache isn’t present but the vestibular symptoms are still there. Either way they are classified as vestibular Migraines.
Symptoms:
Some symptoms that individuals with Vestibular Migraines might experience are:
-severe throbbing headaches usually located on one side of the brain\
– nausea
-Vomiting
-sensitivity to light, smell and noise
-dizziness short term or long term
– a loss of balance
-sensitivity to motion
On Top of these symptoms some individuals also experience hearing symptoms such as ringing or pressure in one or both ears. But again individuals may or may not experience these symptoms simultaneously.
Causes:
Research shows that Vestibular Migraines tend to run in families, therefore it is more likely that a patient who has a parent with Vestibular Migraines to not be experiencing simple headaches but more likely they are also experiencing vestibular migraines. On that point, it has also been noted that women are more likely than men to have these unique types of migraines, which symptoms may increase during menstruation.
Additionally, individuals already suffering from vestibular migraines may experience an increase in symptoms from changes in their sleep patterns, menstrual patterns and from consumption of chocolate, aged cheese and red wine.
Diagnosis:
Since vestibular migraines are a combination of migraines and vestibular imbalance it is harder to diagnose. Therefore before looking at vestibular migraines as the type of headache an individual has or the cause of their dizziness it will be important to rule out any other possible choices.
For example some disorders to rule out before diagnosing an individual with Vestibular Migraines are
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
- Meniere’s disease
- Transient Ischemic attack (TIA) or “mini- stroke
