Ask the doctor: How can positional vertigo treatment affect tinnitus?

Q. I have positional vertigo and use the Epley maneuver for that. Will the Epley maneuver also help my tinnitus?

A. The Epley maneuver is a series of head movements that can help many people with positional vertigo—a condition that causes dizziness, including a feeling that you are spinning, tilting, off-balance, or about to pass out. This type of vertigo often arises from the inner ear, which is part of the body's balance mechanism. Calcium specks (canaliths) can collect in the inner ear, causing vertigo. The Epley maneuver is intended to reposition these canaliths and diminish or eradicate vertigo. Most benign vertigo gets better with time, medications, the Epley maneuver, or a combination of all three.