Vertigo That Spins When You Roll Over? It's Probably BPPV

Quick answer: if your world spins for under a minute when you roll in bed, lie back, or look up — and settles when you hold still — the most likely cause is BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo): loose crystals in the inner ear's motion sensors. It's diagnosable in one visit and usually fixable in one to three with repositioning maneuvers.

Why it happens

Tiny calcium crystals that belong in one chamber of the inner ear migrate into the canals that sense rotation. Certain head positions set them tumbling, and the brain reads that as violent spinning. It's common after head impacts (including car accidents), with age, and often for no reason at all.

The fix is mechanical, not medicinal

Canalith repositioning maneuvers — precise sequences of head positions — guide the crystals back where they belong. Done correctly after identifying which canal is involved, success rates are high within a visit or three. Motion-sickness pills mask symptoms; they don't move crystals.

Should you try the maneuvers from a video?

Here's the honest answer: the maneuver only works if it matches the affected canal and side, and the testing that determines that is the skilled part. Doing the wrong maneuver can move crystals into a worse canal. Get the first one done by someone trained; many patients then learn a home version for recurrences.

When dizziness is not BPPV

Constant (not positional) vertigo, dizziness with hearing changes, or spinning with slurred speech, double vision, or weakness point elsewhere — the last group is a 911 call. Our vestibular evaluation screens the serious causes first, treats BPPV on the spot when that's the answer, and builds a balance-retraining plan when it isn't. Dizziness after a car accident is covered by Michigan no-fault benefits.