Epley Maneuver - Vertigo
 

My Husband suffers from dizziness constantly someone said something about the Epley Maneuver. Has anyone done this before ? Did it work ? and if so can you recommend a doctor down here in the villages area.

I use it now and then. Have him give it a try. Whether it works or not will depend on what is causing his vertigo.

Please don't put the cart before the horse.
First, see a neurologist and possibly an otolaryngologist to get a proper diagnosis as to the cause of his vertigo. Depending on the symptoms and physical findings he'll probably need an MRI, and possibly brainstem evoked potentials and vestibular testing. That should exclude most of the really, really bad causes.

Then, one possible treatment is the "Epley maneuver", many physical therapists are trained to perform it. In my experience it has been about a 50-50 proposition in terms of success. Hope he gets better.

Lastly, some good advice for everyone: Beware of "someone said something"

Mine is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I was tested years ago and was diagnosed. Epley maneuver - Wikipedia

My physician sent me here as I resided in Newport Beach, CA at the time. They strapped me into a chair and rotated it to various positions, much like an Epley maneuver. They also gave me some eye exercises. All this really helped me. Balance Center In Newport Beach, CA | Newport Mesa Audiology Balance & Ear Institute

Exactly!-----you were tested and diagnosed first.

It was not clear from the OP if her husband had been seen for this problem or they just heard "something from someone" about the Epley maneuver. We don't need someone with an undiagnosed malignant acoustic neuroma or posterior cerebral artery aneurysm running around looking for a tilt table.

Mrs. EDJ just had this done in late July. She fell early in July and hit her noggin pretty good. After CT at the ER checked negative for concussion, but she had a traumatic onset of vertigo that was constant whether sitting, standing, or lying down.

The PCP set up an MRI, but in the meantime, referred her to a physical therapist for an Epley Maneuver thinking that there were "crystals" loose in her inner ear.

We are not medical field people, but we are well educated. We had never heard of the Epley maneuver, muchness "crystals" in your ear. Sounded "new age-y" to us.

Anyhow, we mentioned this to a few people in our social circle, and one is a DNP. Not just a Ph.D. in Nursing, but an NP with a doctorate. Anyhow, she and others told us how it had worked miraculously for people they knew. Not always, but often enough. There was something to these loose "crystals" in the ear.

Mrs. EDJ went to the PT. The Epley maneuver took about 2 minutes. It consisted of sitting on a medical table. She was directed to do a few different things, like turn her head to the left and lay back slowly, then sit up rapidly, then repeat with her head turned to the right, etc. Stuff like that. All non-invasive.

She came home from the appointment without much improvement. The next day did not bring much improvement either. However, the second day forward and all the way until today (almost 6 weeks later) the vertigo is gone and has not returned.

Hope this helps.

I was hospitalized for 3 days this past June because at 8AM one morning, while sitting on my computer, I suddenly lost all sense of balance (not spinning), started slow, quickly got worse, was taken by ambulance to ER and eventually admitted. After MRI and tests nothing. Went to PT where they did the Epley maneuver several times. also determined that my eyes were not tracking smoothly.

After 4 PT sessions at the VA and eye and balance and stride exercises, I am pretty much OK but think I will never again have truly "normal" balance.

Best guess is the the tiny,tiny nerve in my right eye that effects balance, isn't talking to me brain anymore.

Get tested and evaluated, then get PT.

JMHO

Epley Maneuver
 

I suffer from BPPV and do the Epley Maneuver, and I also do the reverse Epley Maneuver. I think that the easiest for me is the Half Somersault Maneuver.
All instructions are available on YouTube.

Sounds similar to me. MRI, exercises and all. Physical Therapy all said to be associated with my left ear. Much better now but I believe that I am simply able to cope better. Still have a balance issue with sudden moves. Just got back from a river cruise to Germany. Did not do well with cobblestones and hills. But coped and enjoyed.
Have met several other people that claim to have same residual effects of Vertigo.

Important to recognize that Vertigo is not a disease, but rather a symptom.

At the current time , I am convinced that I will have a balance issue forever and must remain vigilant to any fall potentials. Epley procedures are designed to try to reposition crystals but may not be able to totally succeed. Part of the process!

I have positional vertigo and use this method. Originally Dr Patel at Active Rehab in Lady Lake helped me with this and taught me how to do it myself. It does work!

Vertigo & Epley Maneuver - My Experience
 

Multiple occurrences over the last five years or more. PCP sent me to Phy Ther specialist for Vertigo. Put goggles over my eyes, laying on large flat table moved me in multiple positions. The googles were connected to a PC. They were watching the insides of my eyes and how they reacted to the movements. Identified the cause and allowed them to perform the Epley Maneuver immediately. They instructed me not to do the maneuver myself as I could move the crystals further into the canal and make things worse. Got better over the next couple of days. I was a site on the golf course. Fell down multiple times after picking my ball out of the cup. Many have told me they do the maneuver themselves after watching YouTube. I have insurance so I would just go back to a professional if I needed it done again. Hope it helps.

I've had BVVP as well. A couple of times in our 14 yrs of living here, I've experienced vertigo and went to P.T. for treatment. It worked. I also looked on YouTube for the Epley treatment and have done it at home. Yes, see a dr. first before doing it. My first experience years ago, with vertigo was up north. We told a virus was going around with that as one of it's symptoms. Sometimes an inner ear virus also can cause this issue. I still remember trying to walk in our home and it wasn't an easy thing. I don't recall the treatment that they gave me up there as it was so long ago.

Make sure you do the Epley movements correctly. An ENT or good audiologist can diagnose what type of vertigo you’re experiencing.

Dizzy
 

Skip the regular Dr. Find a Neurologist

Please read post #3, but thank you for the affirmation :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

ENT---yes
Audiologist---not even close to diagnosing anything other than hearing loss.

From Mayo Clinic:
"Through these daily tasks, they work to prevent, diagnose, and manage the hearing and balance disorders of their patients through the use of audiometers, computers, and other testing devices, as well as hearing aids and cochlear implants."

But then again, I do not have a medical degree, so what do I know?

Epley Procedure
 

I had severe vertigo several years ago after a fall. My doctor, who is no longer at the Colony Care Center, introduced me to the Epley Procedure. After a few sessions with her I started doing this at home. It really worked, Also worked for my brother-in-law.

Who is "they"?

And if "they" are audiologists, I suppose there may be some really, really specialized audiologists at places like the Mayo Clinic, but they would be far, far removed from your everyday audiologists

Dr. James Atkins (neurotology & otolaryngology) at Advent Health down by Disney is the Central Florida specialist for dizziness, etc. All my doctors suggested him. Takes about 2 months to get in and then you can just message him instead of going all the way down there. I’ve had this for 3 yrs. I first went to PT and had the Epley maneuver. Then the therapist sat me up, my arms & legs went wild and I punched her in the mouth. And most of my dizziness was over. Because I also have a very rare eye disease, my therapist said “My eyes are working overtime and the brain is trying to understand the mis-message from my ears. Therefore, movement can be very exhausting”. Go on FB and join a Vertigo Support Group. I had videonystagmography at Dr. Atkins. Results - Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo in right ear and hyperactive labyrinthine dysfunction on left side. I sleep a lot!

Yes, but…
 

Depends on etiology of his vertigo. These work for me (+20 yr) and are quite often performed by a physical therapist. Worth a try.

Google, Epley maneuver
 

Google Epley maneuver, and give it a try a few times a day for a couple of days. Sometimes it’s an easy fix, because it can move the crystals back to where they’re supposed to be, and sometimes it doesn’t help. But try it first, it’s free it’s easy and it often works. So if it doesn’t work for you, then next you can speak to your doctor about which specialist to see to start trying to find a different cause.

Epley Maneuver Worked Amazing for Me
 

I had a period of a month or two when I turned over at night the whole room would spin for 5-10 seconds. I went to my PCP and he told me about the Epley Manuever. He performed it one time which made my eyes roll around and gave me the dizzy feeling for the 5-10 seconds. After the procedure was done, which is really nothing, my dizziness had disappeared. That was 5 months ago and now gone.

Of course, everyone should see their PCP for testing and diagnosis. The procedure was simple and worked wonders for me.

the "they" was basket weavers. Oh wait. The discussion was about audiologists. It was a Mayo Clinic article regarding common roles and responsibilities of an audiologist

Common??? I think not.

If a patient came in with the complaint of vertigo, the second to last referral that would ever cross my mind is to an "audiologist" (chiropractor being the last :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:) The patient first of all needs an MRI, probably with gadolinium, to exclude a space occupying lesion or vascular anomaly. They may need brainstem evoked potentials and advanced vestibular testing, which is squarely in the purview of the neurologists and otolaryngologists. Many times the diagnosis comes down to BPPV caused by otoconia in the labyrinth, and may be amenable to the Epley maneuver.

Amazing how some people just go on posting when they don't even know what it is that they don't know. I also think someone just criticized a person with a master's in political science because they claimed some degree of expertise. Regardless, I assure you that I AM an expert, know about a zillion times as much medicine as some that post, and I will be watching, as usual, to make sure no one is misinforming others on this site.

Look. We get it. Someone has a medical degree and is a retired doctor. Does that make them an expert on every thing and every profession that deals with the human body? You know what percentage of audiologists deal with balance issues? Please share that percentage? and that percentage is true for every community across the U.S.? Please share the source of this data.

Or maybe someone could post something like, from my career as a medical doctor, I recommend that you see an ENT over an audiologist for your vertigo issues. They are medical doctors, and as such have more medical training than an audiologist does and would probably be better able to help you.

This would express your credentials, and provide information without having to degrade a profession. It would not INCORRECTLY state that audiologists do not diagnose or that a good chiropractor is an oxymoron.

We were cross posting, so I posted my last post before reading this.

I do not question your medical knowledge or experience. I do not know if you were a horrible doctor, great doctor, or something in between. But l have no basis to assume anything other than the best. I have never tried to stack my medical knowledge and experience against yours, it would not be pretty for me.

But I believe that doctors should be precise or people die. And you are far from precise. You make blanket statements that are categorically wrong. And its obvious from many posts that people trust you because you are a doctor. You owe them thoughtful responses if you are going to speak with the authority of a doctor.

Can anyone spell hyperbole???? That being said I get the impression that some posts are trying to equate medical care with some ancillary services. IT IS NOT THE SAME THING. To suggest that I would advise a patient that “I would recommend you see an ENT rather than an audiologist for your vertigo “ is absolutely bizarre. The concept of referring a vertiginous patient to an audiologist would never, ever enter the mind of even an average physician, only someone with limited knowledge and no experience would even suggest it. It’s no different than the suggestion that seeing a chiropractor for hip pain is the equivalent of seeing an orthopedist. And my concern is that posts that suggest such things could be harmful to some readers out there

Epley Maneuver
 

The Epley Maneuver is to get ear rocks back in their proper position. The ear rocks can have moved out of place from either ear. The following is an excellent description and demonstration of the Epley Maneuver. I have done this myself on two occasions. In both cases, it solve my problem. The Epley Maneuver will only solve the problem if ear rocks are the cause. I've done the maneuver by myself; however, it's probably a little easier if someone helps you. I've done using my bed as the "table."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZgUx9G0uEs

It would not have been a recommendation from you to see an audiologist. It would have been a thoughtful response to someone else recommending it. And everything in it would have been factual. As it is, you got your point across, wrote an incorrect statement that audiologists do not diagnose balance issues(regardless of whether or not they are anywhere close to the best at it), and did it in a way that was degrading to a profession.

Going back to your right wrong right right wrong response to someone else, I don't think you get to be the authority on your bedside manner. If you treated your patients the way you treat others on this site, I am guessing that persons assertion would get a "right"

All seriousness aside, the humour of your last recommendation was not lost on me. I did actually chuckle.

No offense, and I'm really not looking for a p!$$!ng match, but please point out a statement that is "categorically wrong". Some may be exaggerations to make a point, but overall they are accurate. You cannot hunt for rare exceptions and hold that up as a standard. I think I have been pretty consistent---I acknowledged referring patients to chiropractors and other ancillary services when appropriate, but pretty harshly warn against getting evaluated by those fringe practitioners first. Sorry if I ruffle some feathers, but the public sometimes just doesn't "get it". There are a lot of quacks and snake oil salesmen out there, and if I can do some small part to protect the innocent, I'm going to take it.

As far as "having a degree and being retired" goes, I think my career is a bit more than that. For all anyone knows, when they play Dr. Google they may be quoting me from the content that I myself have written. When they need inpatient medical care, they may be receiving treatment under protocols that I have written. So, consider it arrogant if you will, but I feel obligated to utilize my extensive knowledge to benefit others, within certain constraints of law and ethics. And yes, sometimes I get overzealous.

I have done the Epley procedure and it did work but I like the foster procedure more.

Three statements categorically wrong:

1. Audiologist---not even close to diagnosing anything other than hearing loss.
2. First of all, the term "good chiropractor" is an oxymoron.
3. I’m pretty sure I have more than just a clue, having spent over 30 years cleaning up their disasters. (referring to chiropractors) How many times in 30 years did you have to clean up disasters from chiropractors? What percentage of your time would you estimate?

OK

1) I'll amend the statement to 99% cannot diagnose anything other than hearing loss. One of the first steps in assessing vertigo is an MRI. An audiologist is not even permitted to order an MRI (unless the rules have changed in the last 8 years), so how can they even begin to diagnose anything?

2) Withdrawn. It was a hyperbole intended to draw attention to the mistake of starting the assessment of a problem with a chiropractor rather than a qualified doctor. Apologies, especially to 2 good friends of mine that are chiropractors

3) I stand by that assertion. How many disasters, how many dead patients does it take to qualify as not being "categorically wrong"???? I don't measure unnecessary deaths in "percentage of time"

My apologizies (very seriously) for minimizing your career and your benefits to medicine. If not thing else, maybe this thread gave you an opportunity to share a small glimpse of your accomplishments that we should be appreciative of. Too be honest, I still don't know specifics, but thank you for your contributions to the medical community and our benefit.

You say, "You cannot hunt for rare exceptions and hold that up as a standard." I believe that is EXACTLY what you are doing regarding chiropractors. Is only one of us held to that standard?


And I did not hunt for a rare exception. I googled what an audiologist did, I saw the Mayo clinic as the first result and assumed that would be a reputable source (but what doctors can you really trust???:a20::a20::a20:) and posted the result which contradicted your emphatic statement. I didn't try to match my medical knowledge and experience with yours, I used the medical knowledge and experience of what most people think is a reputable institution.

Looks like responses "crossed in the mail" again. Mayo Clinic is a great place, but their structure, protocols and procedures are not the mainstream. They may have glorified audiologists with more capabilities than Podunk, Iowa. But I assure you they would be few and far between. Additionally, how many audiologists do you think even want to take on the responsibility of managing a new, undiagnosed vertiginous patient?

An example---Sloan Kettering is a great oncology institution, but everyone there is on an "experimental" protocol (I did a month rotation there). Unfortunately they almost killed the 23 year old daughter of my mother's friend years ago. Why? She had stage 3B Hodgkin's lymphoma, which had at the time a 96% CURE rate with traditional chemo regimen and mantle + extended Y external beam radiation. Instead they put her on some weird protocol that was ineffective. Fortunately she responded to salvage therapy but had an unnecessarily rough time of it.

1. You are an esteemed doctor. You then make the statement that 99% of audiologists cannot diagnose anything other than hearing loss. You or your proctologist got that statistic from the same place. But people listen to you. And that is why I keep pushing back. Can you please provide any source for that data. If you say your extensive experience, that cannot cover even 1 tenth of 1% of the audiologists/audiology departments.
3. Your assertion was that you"spent your career cleaning up after chiropractors. Either that statement is completely false, or your assertion that much of what we find on google or the procedures we go through at the doctors office were developed by you is completely false. No one disagrees that their are unnecessary deaths( I don't think) and that one is too many. But that was not the assertion. You spent your career cleaning up after chiropractors. I would be a HUGE sum of money that you cleaned up after more medical malpractice in your 30 years than you did cleaning up after chiropractors(maybe none that were as serious as the one case with your nurse). I completely get hyperbole. But, you put it out there in the exact same way you put out there all the steps you should go through for the diagnosis of the cause of vertigo or your 99% statistic above. Was that intended as fact or hyperbole? If it was hyperbole, are you actually using hyperbole to prove a point?

I hope 100% of the people can wade through what you write and get to what you really mean, because I am sure your heart is in the right place. If I went to a doctor and got an xray/MRI and diagnosis, every time I threw my back out, I would be a very poor man, and I would be in pain/incapacitated for much longer than I need to be.
If someone posts that they are looking for a good chiropractor because they are new to the villages, a public service post to make sure a chiropractor is what you need and strongly consider getting a medical opinion first because this is what happened to a nurse patient of mine would be great. You get to help prevent the same thing from re-occurring but you haven't made statements which could preclude people from getting the help that they need. And if you say that no one needs a chiropractor, I will add that to my list of categorically wrong statements.

I didn't post this as refutation to your point about how many can do it, because it is from Audiology associations and organizations. This is to respond to your point that they wouldn't want to. It looks like, from the top resonses on google, that many will welcome you. several sites state that they may/will refer you to a specialist if they are unable to diagnose or see something beyond their capability (paraphrased).

Again, let's look at the big picture. You are more right than me on this obviously with your very clear steps outlined in one of your posts. I stated earlier a way that you could push the person to the correct medical professional without incorrect statements or denigrating.

You keep trying to keep people healthy and I will continue to push back when you make blanket statements that are unnecessary. People will stay healthy (because of you) and maybe every now and then you will think about what you post and the weight it carries. Win win



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