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Is my vertigo "BPPV"? (Top 3 signs for BPPV)

Gordon Physical Therapy

895,609 views

Wondering if your vertigo is BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)? This video explains the top 3 BPPV symptoms and how to tell if your dizziness is caused by BPPV.

0:00 Intro – Do you have BPPV vertigo?
0:18 What is BPPV?
0:42 How BPPV vertigo feels
1:18 Sign #1 – Triggered by position changes
2:18 Sign #2 – Brief spinning episodes
3:20 Sign #3 – Happens with specific movements
4:28 How BPPV is different from other dizziness
5:10 What to do next

BPPV is the most common cause of positional vertigo and often causes brief spinning sensations when you roll over in bed, look up, bend over, or change head positions. Understanding the typical pattern of BPPV symptoms can help you determine whether this may be the source of your dizziness.

In this video, you’ll learn:

• The most common BPPV symptoms
• How BPPV vertigo feels compared to other types of dizziness
• Why position changes trigger spinning
• When you should seek medical evaluation

BPPV occurs when tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear become displaced and move into the semicircular canals. This disrupts normal balance signals and causes brief episodes of spinning vertigo with specific head movements.

If you’ve been searching:

“Do I have BPPV?”
“Why do I get dizzy when I turn over in bed?”
“Is my vertigo BPPV or something else?”
“Vertigo when looking up or bending over”

This video will help you understand the typical presentation of BPPV so you can take the next step toward treatment!

⚠️ Important: this video is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. If you experience severe headache, double vision, weakness, difficulty speaking, or persistent dizziness, seek immediate medical care.

About Gordon Physical Therapy: at Gordon Physical Therapy in Spokane Valley, WA, we help patients treat vertigo, BPPV, and balance disorders using evidence-based vestibular rehabilitation.

We specialize in treating BPPV and vertigo and can often resolve symptoms in just a few visits.

If you’re local and need help, visit:
👉 https://physicaltherapyspokane.com

Luke Gordon, DPT
#bppv #vertigo #dizziness #vestibularrehab #physicaltherapy

20 Comments

@GordonPhysicalTherapy Creator 7 months ago Pinned

Quick question: What position triggers your vertigo the most: rolling over in bed, looking up, or bending forward?

If you're not sure whether your dizziness is actually BPPV, that detail matters!

If you’ve already confirmed you have BPPV and need treatment, here’s my step-by-step "Epley Maneuver" video:
👉 https://youtu.be/4RfoxvyVssE

And if your vertigo keeps coming back, I also made a video explaining why BPPV recurs and what you can do to reduce recurrence:
👉 https://youtu.be/7Muttc3zuPY

If you're local to Spokane Valley, WA and want in-person help, you can learn more here: https://physicaltherapyspokane.com

I try to reply to as many comments as I can... share your experience below 👇

@TheFaithful40 3 months ago

Just a week ago I suffered from vertigo for the very first time in my life i called 911 I was rushed to the emergency room check they checked everything out they said everything was fine that I have bppv, and I'll tell you what the room spinning uncontrollably is very frightening I wouldn't wish this on anyone I was like that for 5days I couldn't get up I couldn't go to work it was very hard for me to give myself a shower. It was the worst thing ever, not to mention the vomiting that goes with it my eyes going from side to side rapidly it was terrible it was so terrible.

@spencerchara3228 2 years ago

Ain't gona lie, I just got this, I tought I had brain problems until my buddy said he had this problem

@MJax53 2 years ago

I had an experience with this just two nights ago. I was lying flat on my back, turned to the left and bam, hit me like a hammer. My eyes were closed so once I turned over it felt like my body was falling off a cliff, I opened my eyes and the room was spinning. It only lasted about 20-30 seconds and afterwards I got this nauseating hot flash throughout my body. Two days later I feel much better but I still have this lingering, almost car sickness type of feeling that won’t quite go away. I definitely appreciate the information in this video!

@peghello 3 years ago

I have been told by my audiologist that a vitamin D deficiency can trigger BPPV. My labs did indicate that I was deficient. Whenever I have a sense that it is occurring or about to I cut I double up on my D3 and it seems to truly help.

@zein8480 3 years ago

it so scary when the spinning starts😭

@ShellShock794 1 year ago

I'm 30 and was woken up at 2:30am today by the sensation that I was lying down on a turntable. I've never been more confused or concerned in my life. The spinning stopped but I spent about 3 hours on the bathroom floor feeling like I had motion sickness and threw up once.

It's now about 10am and I'm working up the courage to try rolling on my sides and maybe the Epley maneuver

@LucieNan 1 year ago

I’m 65 years old and lived with 3-4 episodes per year of vertigo every year. I just lived with it, taking gravol at every episode. I sleep through it until it goes away. It would happen anytime and anywhere and out of nowhere, I’d faint, vomit … completely knocked out. I can’t sit in the back seat of a car, take a plane or a boat without taking a gravol. I didn’t know about this crystals in the inner ear until just recently when I was rushed to the hospital for a bad episode and they told me about BPPV. They gave me the epley maneuver. It helped. They also prescribed physiotherapy. Thank you for this clear explanation.

@victoriac.attorneyatlaw 3 years ago

Definitely have all three, last Friday I thought the floor was going to hit my face. Luckily, I was standing next to a cabinet and could grab on for dear life.

@ajayisflyingmonkey 3 years ago

Hi Gordon,
I am a doctor and impressed that how nicely you have explained,

@sukie584 1 year ago

Another cause overlooked that behaves the same way is turning into a neck muscle ( likely the SCM) in spasm. Given how we live on our phones, iPads etc look down, forward head posture, teeth clenching, etc all this creates severe muscle issues. Tip back is likely the axis.. possibly occipital. People suffer unusually long because practitioners insist on focusing on a vestibular issue rather than muscular/mechanical.

@rosejohnson452 11 months ago

I Had physical therapy for 2 months, 2x weekly, and could trigger vertigo each time I got the Epley maneuver. I read BPPV called the "ass over teacup" feeling and I felt like my feet came up and I did a crooked backward flip , slow motion. Nausea could strike. Could not walk safely. Needed a cane or wall to hold me upright. Then, when I had chest pains, the squeeze under my sternum, I went by ambulance to ER with 160 to 180 heartbeats per min. For 48 hrs I was having Atrial Fibrillation. Drugs to slow heart to 70 bpm and Eliquis to thin blood took 48 hrs to work but finally I reset. I Then could breath better, walk with no vertigo or constant dizziness and went home to recover. Cancelled my P. T. So, if Epley does not work, after 2 weeks or more seek an MRI to rule out stroke. Seek cardiac care if A fibrillation is happening. Seek help as stroke can happen. Lots to learn about these symptoms of BPPV, AFib and getting help.

@MountainMadnessCanuck 1 year ago

For mid life women, BPPV is often due to the decline in hormones, specifically estrogen.

@Mrdsmith500 1 year ago (edited)

Wow, nailed it. I have had this a few years ago but nothing this bad and it just went away. Recently I crawled under my 4x4 truck to bleed the brakes and that was it. It was so bad a yelled out to my wife who was pumping the brakes for me, "I'm going to pass out". I did not pass out but damn, that was bad. I have all what you described. Then I remembered that about a month before this I was removing a steel fence post by wiggling it back and forth and it suddenly snapped and smacked me on my right side forehead so hard it bleed and I had a big bump there for about 4 or 5 days. (BTW, I am 64) So now I have cause, symptoms, and on to the cure. Thank you so much for these types of videos.

@williamwaters4506 2 years ago

I've had this a number of times and it is a horrible feeling. Each time I used the Epley maneuver and it worked. Not only worked, but worked quickly.

@photondance 2 months ago

I was in a car accident about 25 years ago, and I was in a coma for a week.
I never had vertigo before. Now I get vertigo, sometimes, when I lay on my back.
It used to terrify me, but at this point, it feels a little bit like a thrill ride.

@carriej4576 2 years ago

This is absolutely THE BEST video explanation I have seen, and I've watched many. Over 50 videos I'm sure. I'm seeing an ENT next week to figure it all out in addition to eustachian tube dysfunction. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

@Cloudsbegone 1 year ago (edited)

I had an accident that fractured my C4 and C5 that required ACDF surgery. My Vagus nerve, my Jugular vein, and my Carotid artery are all “severely” compressed still. This has caused frequent bouts of vertigo on a regular basis. I get major relief and improvement from getting regenerative therapy in the form of PRP, prolotherapy, and stem cell treatments from Dr Ross Hauser in Ft Meyer, FL. Sadly this therapy isn’t covered by insurance, and it’s expensive. ☹️

@oliviaray23 4 years ago

I have gotten vertigo 3 times within the past 3 months. In between each attack, I have been feeling dizzy, been getting migraines, and head pressure. Not all the time but a good amount of the time. I hit my head a little over a year ago pretty hard opening my car door but i didn’t know if it would just be affecting me now since it was over a year ago. I have been checked for almost everything else and just want to feel better

@lilpuffyclouds 1 month ago

I've had this before and I just had it this morning when I woke up it was absolutely awful --comes out of nowhere. I woke up, rolled over to get out of bed then sat up on the edge of the bed, and I literally almost threw up on the spot. The entire world was spinning around and it was so upsetting. I rested for a while then I did the Epley maneuver, and it really helped over time, and I've been hydrating myself throughout the day but it's now going on around 15 hours ago this happened and I'm still feeling very woozy.Thank you for this information! Wishing everyone good health ❤️