I recently had a patient in a dental chair, dental eze,. When I had the chair automatically set her in an upright position she felt dizzy. I did not think too much as this can be a common occurence. As I spoke with her she said this has been a problem for the last 3 to 5 years. She also related that it is a positonal problem and she can induce the symptoms by hyperextending her head posterialy then bringing her head to an upright position in a clockwise motion. She has been examined by an ENT specialist and was checked for inner and middle ear manifestions but there was no discernable out come. She did not complain of any pain preceding the symptoms. Could this be the beginning of an Eagles syndrome manifestion?? Would it be helpful to take a PANORAL xray??? This patient is Causcain in her mis forties and does domestic cleaning as an advocation.. Thanks for input. Irealise there are many questions on this subject since the television show.
Reply: -----------------------------
Some type of pain is generally considered a prominent feature of Eagle's syndrome. More likely her dizziness could be explained on the basis of some type of orthostatic blood pressure variation, partial occlusion of vertebral vessels, impingement of spinal nerves involved in the spino-vestibular pathways, or posterior semi-circular canal cupulolithiasis amongst other possibilities.
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Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
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