What may increase your risk for problems from dizziness?

Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.

Conditions

• Age older than 60
• Dehydration
• Personal or family history of Ménière's disease or other hearing problems
• History of brain tumor
• Pregnancy
• Previous radiation therapy to the head or neck
• Previous surgery on the head or neck
• A recent concussion, head or ear injury, such as:
  • A direct blow to the ear
  • A penetrating injury to the ear
  • Injury to the middle ear from changes in air pressure (barotrauma)
• A recent motor vehicle accident that set off the air bag

Lifestyle choices

• Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
• Drug abuse or withdrawal
• Smoking or other tobacco use

Medicines

• Antianxiety medicines, such as Librium, Valium, or Xanax
• Antihistamines, such as Benadryl or Chlor-Trimeton
• Diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide, Diuril, Dyazide, Lasix, or spironolactone
• Blood pressure medicines (antihypertensives), such as Inderal, Lopressor, verapamil, Catapres, or reserpine
• Medicines used to treat seizure disorders, such as Dilantin or Tegretol
• Pain medicines, such as hydrocodone, morphine, Darvon, or codeine
• Selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac and Zoloft
• Serotonin receptor agonists (triptans), such as sumatriptan succinate (Imitrex), almotriptan malate (Axert), or rizatriptan (Maxalt)
• Steroids, such as prednisone, methylprednisolone, or dexamethasone
• Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, Pamelor, or Tofranil
• Antipsychotic medicines, such as chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, Haldol, or thioridazine
• Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
• Radiation therapy

Diseases

• Anemia
• Blood flow problems (vascular disease)
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Heart disease, including a history of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or heart valve problems
• Herpes zoster (shingles)
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High cholesterol
• Ménière's disease or other hearing problems
• Mental health problems, such as anxiety, panic attacks, or depression
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neurological disease
• Parkinson's disease
• Seizures
• Stroke
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Vitamin B12 deficiency