Study, 1984
What causes dizziness and vertigo in the week before a period?
The study found signs of abnormal inner ear function rather than just brain swelling. Swelling in the inner ear may be involved in causing dizziness.
What they did
Researchers examined 25 women who experienced nausea, vomiting, vertigo, or dizziness in the premenstrual period. They tested eye movements and inner ear function in the week before menstruation and during the menstrual week.
What they found
In the week before menstruation, 4 women had spontaneous eye movements, 6 had abnormal eye movements with position changes, and 9 showed abnormal inner ear responses. Most showed no abnormality during the menstrual week. Tests indicated the problem was in the inner ear (in 7 cases) rather than the brain (in 2 cases).
What it means for you
Dizziness before a period may be caused by swelling in the inner ear rather than brain swelling alone. The main limitation is the small sample of 25 women who already had these symptoms, so it is not clear how common this pattern is in all women with PMS.
25
women examined
4
had spontaneous eye movements
9
had abnormal inner ear responses
About the study
- Original title
- A study of vertigo and dizziness in the premenstrual period
- Authors
- Abdel Nabi EA, Motawee E, Lasheen N et al.
- Journal
- The Journal of laryngology and otology
- Year
- 1984
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- None.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1017/s0022215100146559