Which set lists common peripheral vertigo etiologies?

• A. Cervical vertigo, motion sickness, orthostatic dizziness
• B. BPPV, vestibular neuritis/labyrinthitis, Menière disease
• C. Vertebrobasilar insufficiency, posterior circulation stroke, cerebellar tumor/MS
• D. Menière disease alone

Answer: (B)

Peripheral vertigo comes from problems in the inner ear or the vestibular nerve. The best set includes three well-established peripheral causes: BPPV, vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis, and Menière disease.

BPPV happens when tiny calcium crystals (otoconia) become dislodged and migrate into one of the semicircular canals. This produces brief, provoked episodes of spinning vertigo with particular head movements, like looking up or rolling over in bed.

Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis is an inflammatory process affecting the vestibular nerve or the inner ear labyrinth. It presents with a sudden, intense spinning vertigo that can last days, often with nausea and imbalance; hearing may be preserved in neuritis or affected in labyrinthitis.

Menière disease involves fluctuating endolymphatic pressure in the inner ear (endolymphatic hydrops). It causes recurrent vertigo episodes that last longer than typical BPPV, with fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and a feeling of fullness in the ear.

The other options mix in non-peripheral dizziness or central etiologies (pressures or strokes affecting brainstem/cerebellum), which don’t reflect the common peripheral causes described above. A single disorder like Menière’s alone doesn’t capture the range of typical peripheral vertigo etiologies.