Common Causes of Vertigo In The Workplace

Vertigo is a peculiar condition that often goes unnoticed and/or undiagnosed in the workplace. Not to be confused with dizziness, vertigo is characterized by the feeling of horizontal or vertical spinning (eg: the world is spinning around you, or you are spinning around the world).

While the exact rate of vertigo in the workplace remains unknown, medical experts believe it's in the tens of thousands. This condition is especially problematic among factory workers, at it leaves them temporarily disabled, which could lead to an injury among them or other nearby workers. But what exactly causes vertigo? And is there any thing workers can do to protect themselves against it?

Symptoms of Vertigo:

• Nausea
• Loss of balance
• Vomiting
• Light headed
• Inability to stand upright
• Blurred vision
• Earache

Note: symptoms of vertigo vary from person to person. Just because someone else experiences nausea and vomiting from vertigo doesn't necessarily mean you will too. Everyone reacts differently to this condition, and symptoms can range from mild to moderate depending on how your own body's reaction.

It's a common assumption that vertigo is associated with heights, such as the distinct feeling in the pit of your stomach you get when looking down from atop a tall skyscraper or mountain. While heights may trigger this condition, anyone can suffer from vertigo at any given place and any given time. You do not have to be standing on top of a skyscraper to suffer from a sense of vertigo.

What Causes Vertigo?

To understand the causes of vertigo, you must first understand that this is a blanket term used to describe a particular sense of imbalance; therefore, there are dozens of possible causes. Some of these causes are easily linked to an individual's condition, while others remain hidden and undiagnosed by medical professionals.

Here's a short list of some of the most common causes of vertigo in the workplace:

• Elevated blood pressure (hypertension)
• Ear inflammation (Labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis)
• Meniere’s disease
• Migraine headache
• Tension headache
• Diabetes
• Decreased and/or restricted blood flow to the brain

Ear injury/disease is one of the most common causes of vertigo in the workplace. Workers who fail to protect their hearing by wearing noise-cancelling headphones, ear plugs, etc. place themselves at risk for vertigo due to the natural connection between hearing and balance. Exposure to high audible levels can lead to a wide range of adverse symptoms, including hearing loss, ringing of the ear (tinnitus), headaches, and of course vertigo.