The Epley Maneuver

After many dizzy episodes, hours and hours of testing, and a week full of appointments, we now have a diagnosis. Jim has been experiencing a condition known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.

Within the inner ear, there’s a little pouch called the utricle that contains about 1,000 little pebbles (crystals) made of calcium carbonate. The tiny crystals serve an important purpose: They stimulate nerve cells when we move our heads — and send signals to our brain that guide our sense of up and down. When the crystals fall into one of the inner ear canals, the brain gets confused. As they roll around in the canal, the brain senses that the head is moving a lot more than it actually is. The result: vertigo.

Head injuries and viruses can trigger the crystals moving around as seen in BPPV. But several studies also document that the condition is more prevalent among adults over age 50.

The dizziness could be relieved by a series of simple movements that take about 15 minutes!!!

The main strategy used to move the crystals out of the canal is called the Epley maneuver.

So, after hours of testing last week at the Lamar University's Speech and Hearing Center, the Epley Maneuver was done. Jim is still somewhat weak and has to be careful getting up and down suddenly, but we think we have at least put a name now to the condition and found a treatment.

It may take more than one therapy session of the maneuver being done, but ususally within two or three sessions the patient is back to normal.

We have an appointment with the Otolaryngologist in the morning and are very hopeful that Jim will be released to return to work soon.

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers!!!