Dizziness is common among the general population and leads to substantial burden on patients and the health-care system. Dizziness that is vestibular in origin accounts for about a quarter of patients with dizziness symptoms, and the most common cause of vestibular origin dizziness is BPPV. Migrainous vertigo also appears to be common. Meniere’s disease, on the other hand, was relatively uncommon in the general population and also as a proportion of vestibular origin dizziness. Most patients with vestibular origin dizziness present for a medical evaluation. Diagnostic tests are commonly...

Dizziness is common among the general population and leads to substantial burden on patients and the health-care system. Dizziness that is vestibular in origin accounts for about a quarter of patients with dizziness symptoms, and the most common cause of vestibular origin dizziness is BPPV. Migrainous vertigo also appears to be common. Meniere’s disease, on the other hand, was relatively uncommon in the general population and also as a proportion of vestibular origin dizziness. Most patients with vestibular origin dizziness present for a medical evaluation. Diagnostic tests are commonly ordered and in the United States rates of use of imaging studies have dramatically increased. Positional testing and particle repositioning seem to be underutilized. Though the German study is a large and detailed epidemiological study on dizziness and vertigo, more epidemiological studies are needed in other populations. Remaining needs from epidemiologic studies include more data from other populations and prospective longitudinal cohorts with relevant outcome measures so we can see how processes of care impact important patient outcomes in real-world settings.