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Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The aetiology of most cases of BPPV is unknown (idiopathic).

Secondary causes of BPPV can be due to various disorders which damage the inner ear

  • head trauma
  • mastoid surgery
  • vestibular neuritis
  • labyrinthitis
  • Meniere's disease

In contrast to idiopathic BPPV, the traumatic form displays several distinctive characteristics

  • higher incidence of bilaterality
  • several canals on the same side can be affected
  • seen equally among women and men
  • more difficult to treat
  • recurrence of the disease occurs frequently

In addition, the incidence of BPPV has shown to be higher in patients with migraine. BPPV is also reported to occur with giant-cell arteritis, diabetes, and hyperuricaemia (1).

Reference:

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