Vertigo is a term used to describe spinning sensations in your body or head. In most cases, these sensations stem from disorders in certain structures of your inner ear that normally provide you with a sense of balance. Children can develop the same vertigo symptoms as adults, as well as unique symptoms of pediatric vertigo.
Understanding Vertigo
Healthcommunities.com lists common forms of vertigo that include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, ear poisoning and vestibular neuritis. In benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, debris in the inner ear causes brief bouts of vertigo when you move your head to certain positions. In ear poisoning, or ototoxicity, exposure to certain medications or environmental contaminants such as lead triggers vertigo by damaging your inner ear or acoustic nerve. In vestibular neuritis, vertigo is triggered by inflammation of vestibular nerve cells inside your ear. Children can develop vertigo from any of these sources, the Vestibular Disorders Association reports.
Common Causes
In most cases, BPPV in children occurs in the aftermath of sports injuries, accidents and falls, according to the Vestibular Disorders Association. In some circumstances, your child may also develop the disorder after receiving a cochlear implant. In addition to vestibular neuritis, your child may experience a related form of inner ear inflammation called labyrinthitis. Your child may also develop vertigo from less common causes such as autoimmune disease, Meniere’s disease and enlargement of a small canal in the inner ear called the vestibular aqueduct.
Child-Specific Causes
In addition to causes of vertigo common to adults, your child may develop vertigo symptoms from causes found only in children, the Vestibular Disorders Association explains. If your child is between the ages of 2 and 12, he may develop childhood paroxysmal vertigo, also called migraine equivalent. In addition to spinning sensations, symptoms of this disorder include nausea, vomiting and involuntary eye movements, or nystagmus. In most cases, children eventually outgrow these symptoms, but in some cases they may eventually transform into adult BPPV or migraine-associated vertigo. Infants may also develop a condition called paroxysmal torticollis of infancy. Symptoms of this condition include head tilting, pale skin, agitation, nausea, vomiting and ataxia, or loss of muscular coordination.
Diagnosis
Since children typically do not describe their symptoms as accurately as adults, child vertigo can go unnoticed or undiagnosed, the Vestibular Disorders Association notes. To uncover vertigo symptoms in your child, a doctor may use diagnostic techniques that include a physical examination, medical history, hearing test and brain scan. In some cases, a vestibular therapist may also evaluate your child’s sense of balance and visual-motor coordination.
Treatment
After making a diagnosis, a doctor or vestibular therapist can design a treatment program geared specifically toward your child’s needs, the Vestibular Disorders Association reports. Common treatment options for vertigo include medications, specialized physical therapy, dietary changes and home exercises. Due to greater flexibility in retraining their nervous systems, children often experience better treatment results than adults.
