“Do MRIs explain why some people have vertigo?”
I've been prone to vertigo since I was a teenager, and now I'm 32. I've heard of some people getting MRIs to have their brain function analyzed. Do MRIs explain why some people have vertigo?
5 Answers
In some cases, yes.
The vestibular system includes the middle ear and the nerves as well as the tracts in the brainstem. MRI with and without contrast helps to know if the anatomy is normal.
Basila pathology like brain mass or vascular abnormality can be explained by MRI in vertigo patients.
Unless the vertigo is due to a structural lesion in the brain, an MRI can’t explain vertigo. Vestibular and balance testing can assess for labyrinthine causes of vertigo. But many people have dizziness due to migraine headaches, and there is not really a test for that. Start with an ENT who specializes in balance and if the ear is ok, then see a neurologist.
Generally no, since most vertigo has to do with problems in the "balance organs" in the temporal bones (above and behind your cheek bones, but down deep), and the problems there are typically microscopic in nature. MRI won't show that type of detail. Sometimes (much less often), vertigo is caused by a brain, brainstem or 8th cranial nerve problem, though, and MRI usually will show problems in those areas, if evidence of such things as tumors or Multiple Sclerosis are present.
