Labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis: sudden dizziness from the inner ear
Both conditions are inflammation in the inner ear, usually after a virus, that cause sudden, severe dizziness that can last for days. Labyrinthitis also affects your hearing. Most people recover fully within a few weeks.
When the balance organ is inflamed.
Your inner ear contains the cochlea, which handles hearing, and the vestibular system, which senses movement and helps you balance. Both send signals to the brain through the vestibulocochlear nerve.
In vestibular neuritis, the balance part of that nerve is inflamed, so you have vertigo but your hearing is normal. In labyrinthitis, the inflammation affects the inner ear more widely, so vertigo comes with hearing loss or tinnitus in the affected ear. Both usually follow a viral infection such as a cold or flu.
Sudden, constant vertigo for a day or more, slowly easing over days to weeks.
As above, with muffled hearing or ringing in one ear. Hearing usually recovers, but should be checked.
Signs of inner ear inflammation.
Once the vertigo has settled, a hearing test shows whether your hearing has fully recovered. If it has not, we write to your GP.
Not all dizziness is the same.
- Labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis: constant vertigo lasting a day or more, slowly improving.
- BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo): brief spins lasting under a minute, set off by rolling over in bed or looking up. Very treatable with simple head movements done by a GP or physiotherapist.
- Ménière's disease: attacks lasting 20 minutes to several hours, with hearing loss, tinnitus and fullness, coming back over months or years.
- Vestibular migraine: dizziness with or without headache, often with sensitivity to light or sound.
Dizziness with stroke symptoms is an emergency. See the warning box below.
Treatment and recovery.
Most people get better on their own as the inflammation settles. In the first few days, rest, drink plenty of fluids and lie still in a quiet room during the worst of it. Your GP may prescribe a medicine for the sickness and vertigo, usually for a few days only.
As soon as you can, start moving about gently. It feels counterintuitive, but movement helps the brain adapt to the change in balance signals. If dizziness lasts more than a few weeks, ask your GP about vestibular rehabilitation, a set of exercises that retrain your balance.
Do not drive, cycle, or use ladders or machinery while you are dizzy.
Checking your hearing after the dizziness.
Diagnosis and treatment of vertigo come from your GP. We can help with your hearing once the worst has passed.
Once you can travel comfortably, a full test shows whether labyrinthitis has affected your hearing.
If getting to the clinic is hard while your balance recovers, we can test your hearing at home.
Ringing that remains after labyrinthitis can be assessed and managed as part of your hearing test.
If your hearing has not recovered, we write to your GP with the results.
Call 999 if dizziness comes with
- Weakness or numbness on one side of the body
- A drooping face, slurred speech or difficulty swallowing
- Double vision or loss of vision
- A sudden, severe headache
- Being unable to stand or walk at all
These can be signs of a stroke. For new, severe vertigo without these, contact your GP or NHS 111 the same day.
Frequently asked questions.
The worst usually passes within a few days, and most people feel better within a few weeks. Some people have lingering unsteadiness for longer, which vestibular rehabilitation can help.
Usually hearing recovers, but some people are left with a permanent loss in the affected ear. A hearing test after recovery tells you for certain.
The condition itself is not, but the virus that triggered it can be.
Not while you are dizzy. Check DVLA guidance if dizziness lasts or comes back.
Vertigo is a feeling that you or the room are spinning. Dizziness is a broader term that includes feeling light-headed or unsteady.
Recovered? Check your hearing.
Hearing tests in our Birmingham clinic, or at home if travelling is difficult.
Ménière's diseaseSudden hearing lossHearing loss in one earTinnitusHome hearing tests
Written and clinically reviewed by our HCPC registered audiologists. Last reviewed: 15 October 2026. This page is general information, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your hearing or your ears, book an appointment or speak to your GP.