Banner: Dizziness & Balance
Title: Rocks in My Ears!
By Poonam McAllister, Vestibular Physical Therapist, Central Illinois Institute of Balance
Yes, there is such a thing as “rocks” in your ears! You may have even heard people talk about having
rocks in their ears that literally made their world spin.
The inner ear is the farthest part of the ear. It is housed deep inside the skull bone and is not visible
from the outside. The inner ear is made of two parts. The first part is a snail like part called the cochlea
and the other part looks like a sac with three rings that come out of it. This second part is called the
labyrinth. The cochlea is the hearing organ and the labyrinth is the balance organ or sensor.
The labyrinth is what houses the rocks. The labyrinth is made of two sacs called the utricle and saccule
and three semicircular canals. The utricle is what houses the rocks, often described as crystals in the
inner ear. The medical term for the ear rocks is otoconia. These rocks or crystals are made of calcium
carbonate and have a very important job to do. These crystals are normally present in both inner ears
and help us sense where we are in space. They are extremely small and are not seen on any X-Ray or
MRI.
Sometimes, for no given reason or following a head injury, a car accident or a fall, these rocks move out
of place. They now float freely in one of the semi- circular canals. So when a person with rocks that have
moved out of place moves their head up or down or bends over, they feel the room spin. Simple daily
tasks like washing or blow drying their hair makes them sick to their stomach. Often people with this
problem complain of the room spinning when they roll in bed or first get out of bed in the morning. The
medical term for the displaced rocks is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or in short BPPV.
The symptoms of rocks being out of place include room spinning dizziness, nausea and a feeling of
falling or being thrown back in bed upon rising. Often these symptoms last only for seconds and stop
once the head or body movement has stopped. People often feel unsteady, veer to one side or feel
unsteady when they make quick turns. Many people are afraid to leave the house alone and sometimes
have to miss work or social activities.
You can be tested for BPPV by your physician or by a referral to a Vestibular Physical Therapist or an
Audiologist. It is an outpatient procedure and the treatment is very simple. The rocks are tested by
performing a procedure called the Dix- Hallpike procedure or Roll Test. It is not recommended that
people try to do this by themselves. A specific treatment procedure is performed after determining
where the rocks have dislodged. People are often symptom free after the first treatment. Some complex
cases need repeated sessions and a home exercise program. There are other causes of dizziness besides
displaced rocks covered in this article. If you experience any form of dizziness you must mention it to
your physician to rule out any other causes. Treatments have documented benefit and are covered by
insurance companies.
So, if the room is spinning, don’t just sing the song “ I’m so dizzy my head is spinnin………..” Call your
doctor for a referral to check out those ear rocks.
For more information, you may contact Central Illinois Institute of Balance at 309-663-4900. They are
located at1404 Eastland Drive in Bloomington and specialize in treating balance and dizzy disorders.
Please try to find a picture of an ear that is simpler and doesn’t look like a text book. If can’t find one,
then just do whatever.
( Insert picture of inner ear) Netter’s Book of Anatomy- Poonam has a disc or available online
You may have heard people talk about having rocks in their ears that made their world spin. Yes, there is
such a thing as rocks in your ears!
The inner ear is the farthest part of the ear. It is housed deep inside the skull bone and is not visible
from the outside. The inner ear is made of two parts. The first part is a snail like part called the cochlea
and the other part that looks like a sac with three rings that come out of it. This second part is called the
labyrinth. The cochlea is the hearing organ and the labyrinth is the balance organ/ or sensor.
The labyrinth is what houses the rocks. The labyrinth is made of two sacs called the utricle and saccule
and three semicircular canals. The utricle is what houses the rocks or often described as crystals in the
inner ear. Theses rocks or crystals are made of calcium carbonate and have a very important job to do.
The medical term for the ear rocks is otoconia. These crystals are hence normally present in both inner
ears and help us sense where we are in space. They are very minute and are not seen on any X-Ray or
MRI.
Sometimes for no given reason or following head injury or a car accident or a fall these rocks move out
of place. They now float freely in one of the semi- circular canals. So when a person with rocks that have
moved out of place, moves their head up or down or bend over they feel the room spin. Simple daily
tasks like washing or blow drying their hair makes them sick to their stomach. Often people with this
problem complain of room spinning when they roll in bed or first get out of bed in the morning. The
medical term for the displaced rocks is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or in short BPPV.
The symptoms of rocks being out of place include room spinning dizziness, nausea and a feeling of
falling or being thrown back in bed upon rising. Often these symptoms last only for seconds and stop
once the head or body movement has stopped. People often feel unsteady, veer to one side or feel
unsteady when they make quick turns. Many people are afraid to leave the house alone and sometimes
have to miss work or social activities
You can be tested for BPPV by your physician or by a referral to a Vestibular Physical Therapist or an
Audiologist. It is an outpatient procedure and the treatment is very simple. The rocks are tested by
performing a procedure called the Dix- Hallpike procedure OR Roll Test. It is not recommended that
people try to do this by themselves. A specific treatment procedure is performed after determining
where the rocks have dislodged. Often people are symptom free after the first treatment. Some
complex cases need repeated sessions and a home exercise program. There are other causes of
dizziness that are not covered in this article. If you experience any form of dizziness you must mention it
your physician to rule out any other causes. Treatments are covered by insurance companies and have
documented benefit.
So, if the room is spinning when you are not singing the song, I am so dizzy……….. call your doctor for a
referral to check those rocks.