Benign Positional Vertigo: Causes, Triggers, and What You Can Do

When you roll over in bed or look up at a shelf and suddenly feel like the room is spinning, you might be dealing with benign positional vertigo, a common inner ear disorder that triggers brief but intense dizziness with head movement. Also known as BPPV, it’s not dangerous—but it can make everyday moves feel risky. Unlike dizziness from low blood pressure or migraines, BPPV is tied directly to tiny crystals in your inner ear that get out of place. These crystals, called otoconia, normally help you sense gravity and balance. When they shift into the wrong canal, they send false signals to your brain, making you feel like you’re spinning—even when you’re still.

What causes this shift? It often happens after a head bump, ear infection, or just as you age. Studies show over half of people over 60 will experience it at least once. It’s not caused by stress, anxiety, or poor circulation, even though those are common guesses. The real trigger? Gravity pulling loose crystals into sensitive parts of your vestibular system—the part of your inner ear that controls balance. This is why symptoms hit hardest when you change head position: lying down, sitting up, or turning over. The good news? Your body can fix this. In fact, the most effective treatment isn’t a pill—it’s a simple head maneuver called the Epley maneuver. Done right, it moves the crystals back where they belong, often in under five minutes.

Many people try antihistamines or anti-nausea meds first, but those only mask the feeling. They don’t fix the root issue. Real relief comes from repositioning the crystals, not suppressing the symptoms. Physical therapists and ENTs use specific head movements to guide the crystals out of the semicircular canals. You can even learn to do it at home with a guide. The key is matching the movement to the affected ear—which is why a proper diagnosis matters. If you’ve had this happen more than once, you’re not alone. Recurrence is common, but each episode gets easier to handle once you know what’s going on.

You’ll find real stories here—from people who thought they had a stroke to those who avoided surgery by trying the right maneuver. We cover how to tell if your dizziness is BPPV or something else, what tests doctors actually use, and why some home remedies work while others just waste time. You’ll also see how this connects to other balance disorders, what medications can make it worse, and how to prevent it from coming back after treatment. No fluff. No hype. Just what works.