Common causes of dizziness

The most common causes of dizziness are outlined below.

Labyrinthitis – an inner ear infection that affects your hearing and balance, and can lead to a severe form of dizziness called vertigo.

Migraine – dizziness may come on before or after the headache, or even without the headache.

Stress or anxiety – particularly if you tend to hyperventilate (breathe abnormally quickly when resting).

Low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia) – is usually seen in people with diabetes.

Postural hypotension – a sudden fall in blood pressure when you suddenly sit or stand up, which goes away after lying down. This is more common in older people.

Dehydration or heat exhaustion – dehydration could be due to not drinking enough during exercise or illness that causes vomiting, diarrhoea, or fever.

Vertebrobasilar insufficiency – decreased blood flow in the back of the brain, which may be caused by the blood vessels that lead to the brain from the heart being blocked (known as atherosclerosis).

Less common causes of dizziness include:

• having a severe illness or condition that affects the whole body
• using recreational drugs or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (either binge drinking or long-term alcohol misuse)
• certain types of prescription medicine – such as antidepressants or blood pressure medication
• having a heart rhythm problem – such as atrial fibrillation (a fast, irregular heartbeat)
• carbon monoxide poisoning