Ambler's Specialist in Dizziness & Vertigo
Expert Diagnosis for Vertigo, Dizziness, and Balance Disorders
Vertigo and Dizziness Treatment in the Greater Philadelphia Area
Specialized care for vertigo and dizziness in Montgomery County—without the city commute and long wait times
Ever felt like the room is suddenly spinning, or like you’re trying to walk on a rocking boat? You’re not alone. Dizziness and vertigo are common issues that bring many adults across Montgomery and Bucks Counties into our office.
While easily dismissed as general dizziness, these symptoms can become disorienting and dangerous if left untreated. When temporary fixes fail to provide relief, it is time to take a closer look at the mechanics of your inner ear.
At Greater Philadelphia Ear Specialists, board-certified ear specialist Dr. Sean Larnerspecializes in the complex balance systems of the body, providing advanced diagnostics and targeted treatments to help you regain your steady ground.
What is the Difference Between Dizziness & Vertigo?
To find the right treatment, it helps to identify exactly what you are experiencing:
- Vertigo is a distinct, false sensation of movement. You might feel like the room is spinning, tilting, or rocking, even though you are sitting still. It is frequently triggered by shifting your head position, rolling over in bed, or looking up.
- Dizziness is a broader term that encompasses feelings of lightheadedness, unsteadiness, or a floating sensation without a violent spinning component.
The Inner Ear’s Role with Balance
Your sense of balance actually starts inside your ear. Deep within your skull sits a complex structure called the vestibular system, which is made up of gravity-sensing organs and three fluid-filled loops (semicircular canals).
As you move, fluid shifts inside these canals, bending microscopic hair cells that translate your physical movement into electrical signals sent directly to your brain.
When an illness, infection, or structural disruption interferes with these delicate pathways, your brain receives conflicting information. Your eyes say you are sitting still, but your inner ear says you are spinning. This sensory mismatch results in a sudden, debilitating wave of vertigo.
Common Inner Ear Causes of Vertigo and Dizziness
As a specialized Otologist, Dr. Larner frequently diagnoses and manages the following inner ear balance disorders:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
Vestibular Neuritis and Labyrinthitis
Meniere’s Disease
BPPV is the most common cause of inner ear vertigo. It occurs when microscopic calcium carbonate crystals dislodge from their home in the inner ear and drift into the fluid-filled semicircular canals. When you move your head, these floating crystals shift the fluid abnormally, triggering brief episodes of spinning that last from a few seconds to a minute.
These conditions are caused by inflammation of the inner ear or the vestibular nerve, typically following a common viral infection like a cold or flu. Vestibular neuritis causes sudden, prolonged, and severe vertigo accompanied by nausea and unsteadiness. If the inflammation also affects the hearing nerve (labyrinthitis), it will cause sudden hearing loss or tinnitus alongside the dizziness.
Meniere’s disease is a chronic condition characterized by an abnormal buildup of fluid within the inner ear. It results in unpredictable, fluctuating attacks of severe vertigo that can last for hours, accompanied by fluctuating hearing loss, a low-frequency roaring tinnitus, and a distinct feeling of fullness or pressure inside the affected ear.
Comprehensive Vestibular Testing
Because different balance disorders can present with very similar symptoms, guessing is never an option. Prior to starting any treatment, Dr. Larner performs a detailed evaluation paired with specialized vestibular testing. These diagnostic evaluations look closely at the reflex pathways between your eyes, brain, and inner ear to map exactly where the balance system is misfiring.
Depending on your symptoms, your diagnostic evaluation may include:
- Video-Oculography (VOG) / Videonystagmography (VNG): You will wear a pair of specialized, infrared camera goggles that track and record your involuntary eye movements. Because the inner ear naturally controls certain eye movements to keep your vision steady when your head turns, tracking these movements gives us a direct window into how well each inner ear is functioning.
- Caloric Testing: Performed as part of the VNG protocol, this involves introducing small amounts of warm or cool air/water into the ear canal. The temperature change naturally stimulates the inner ear’s balance fluid. By measuring your eye responses to this stimulation, we can determine if one inner ear is weaker or damaged compared to the other.
- Positional Testing: Dr. Larner will guide your head and torso through precise positional changes while watching your eyes through the VOG goggles. This allows us to instantly confirm or rule out BPPV by determining exactly which ear canal contains the loose calcium crystals.
- Hearing Testing: Because the hearing and balance systems share the same pathway inside the ear, a comprehensive hearing test is vital. Identifying or ruling out high- or low-frequency hearing loss helps differentiate between conditions like Vestibular Neuritis (which spares hearing) and Meniere’s Disease or Labyrinthitis (which affect hearing).
How Dr. Larner Treats Balance Disorders
Once your vestibular testing isolates the precise structural cause of your dizziness, Dr. Larner designs a targeted, highly effective treatment plan right in our office:
Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers (For BPPV)
Intratympanic Injections (For Meniere’s Disease & Labyrinthitis)
Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)
If testing confirms your vertigo is caused by displaced inner ear crystals, Dr. Larner can perform guided movements, such as the Epley Maneuver. By gently guiding your head through a specific sequence of positions, we physically roll the loose crystals back into their proper home, often providing complete relief from vertigo in just a single office visit.
For stubborn cases of severe vertigo or sudden inner ear inflammation, Dr. Larner can perform precise intratympanic injections right in our Ambler office exam room. Using a local numbing agent on the eardrum, a highly concentrated dose of steroid medication is delivered safely into the middle ear space, where it absorbs natively into the inner ear to suppress inflammation and control severe vertigo episodes.
If your inner ear has suffered permanent changes from a viral infection or nerve damage, Dr. Larner coordinates targeted physical therapy regimens called Vestibular Rehabilitation. These specialized exercises retrain your brain to use secondary sensory cues (like your vision and joint sensations) to compensate for the inner ear mismatch, restoring your long-term stability and confidence while walking.
Reclaim Your Balance with Dr. Larner
You do not have to live with the fear of dizziness disrupting your life. If you are struggling with persistent unsteadiness or spinning sensations, specialized otologic care is close to home.
Contact Greater Philadelphia Ear Specialiststoday at (215) 383-1333 to schedule your comprehensive balance and inner ear evaluation with Dr. Sean Larner at our convenient Ambler office.
Let us help you find your footing again.
Sources
Clinical Practice Guideline: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (Update). Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 156(3_suppl), S1–S47
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Sean Larner | July 6, 2026
This content is strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice.