Dizziness and Imbalance Disorders

Evaluation and Treatment

The East Texas Sinus and Dizziness Center models the prototype dizziness center pioneered by Dr. Ronald G. Morton in Longview in 2009. It remains the only center in the region where patients receive an initial evaluation, all diagnostic testing, interpretation, and treatment decisions made in a single appointment. It is the only facility that is able to test the inner ear in the Longview area. The evaluation offered at the East Texas Sinus and Dizziness Center includes a full neuro-otologic exam, Videonystagmography (VNG), Platform Posturography, Audiometric testing all, of which are gathered and evaluated. This allows a treatment plan to be formed for each individual patient.

Understanding the inner ear is not the only source of “dizzy spells”, Dr. Morton and his staff further evaluate other body systems including circulatory and other neurologic sources for dizziness, neuropathy, and orthopedic sources for balance disorders, and metabolic problems that affect overall nerve health and worsen disequilibrium.

So, why do I feel dizzy?

Dizziness is a term used to describe a range of sensations, such as feeling faint, woozy, weak, or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the false sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo.

The root cause depends on your overall symptoms and the way your individual dizziness makes you feel. That said, it has many possible causes, including:

• Vertigo – This occurs when your brain receives signals from the inner ear that are inconsistent with what is coming out of your eyes and sensory nerves. Vertigo is the result of your brain working to sort out the confusion.
• Meniere's disease - This involves the excessive buildup of fluid in your inner ear. It's characterized by sudden episodes of vertigo lasting as long as several hours. You may also experience fluctuating hearing loss and tinnitus.
• Migraine - People who experience migraines may have episodes of vertigo or other types of dizziness even when they're not having a severe headache. Such vertigo episodes can last minutes to hours and may be associated with headaches as well as light and noise sensitivity.

Light Headed and Dizzy - What are the Risks

Due to time and circumstance, some of us are more likely to experience a balance disorder in our lifetimes than others.

A few things that you should take into account when discussing your condition with Dr. Morton include:

• Age – Older adults are more likely to have health conditions that include dizziness as a side effect. They may also take medicines for other conditions that are known to indirectly lead to imbalance.
• Medical history – If you experienced an imbalance disorder at some point in your life, you are more likely to experience it again.
• Blood levels – Do you have a history of feeling differently overall when you haven’t had a snack? Are you looking paler than most days? People with blood conditions, like hypoglycemia and anemia, are very familiar with the drowsiness and imbalance that accompanies a “down” day.

For those difficult problems that are not clear after the full office evaluation, Dr. Morton works together with a neurodiagnostic service to offer further in-home testing to monitor for unusual cardiovascular or neurologic activity that may accompany the patient’s symptoms. This adds yet another level of testing not available in any other center in East Texas. Regardless of the source, the East Texas Sinus and Dizziness Center carries out the region’s most comprehensive evaluation of dizziness.

Once the evaluation is completed, an individualized treatment strategy is developed. This may include medications, metabolic supplementation, possible procedures to treat the inner ear acutely, and the backbone of the maintenance of equilibrium: vestibular therapy. Using a program that includes parameters used in many national centers, along with other strategies designed by Dr. Morton and Lori Tooker, one of East Texas’ premiere therapists, patients that will benefit are placed in a program that will maximize their ability to improve their balance and equilibrium. These treatment strategies set the Dizziness Center in the East Texas Sinus and Dizziness Center apart from all others in this area.