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Dizziness may not sound like a serious problem. Still, it can feel very frustrating, especially when it makes everyday tasks more challenging.

Not drinking enough water, low blood sugar, or medication side effects often cause dizziness. However, it can also signify a health problem that requires treatment, including a brain, heart, or inner ear problem.

An estimated 15% to 20% of adults experience dizziness or lightheadedness each year.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why do I feel dizzy?” you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know about the causes of dizziness, when to see a doctor for dizziness, and when a dizzy spell is an emergency.

Why Am I Dizzy? Common Causes of Dizziness

Dizziness can happen for many reasons. Some of its most common causes include:

• Anxiety — Stress can cause your breathing to become shallow. This can mean your brain gets less oxygen and you feel dizzy.
• Dehydration — Not drinking enough water can reduce blood flow to the brain, causing dizziness.
• Inner ear problems — Ear infections and other inner ear problems can cause dizziness. One of the most common inner ear problems linked to dizziness is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). In this case, you may feel like the room spins when you turn your head. Some inner ear problems, like BPPV, only cause vertigo. Others can cause hearing loss and require immediate treatment.
• Low blood sugar — If you skip meals, your blood sugar can drop, making you feel weak and dizzy.
• Low iron levels — Low iron makes it harder for your blood cells to bring oxygen to the brain, causing you to feel dizzy and tired.
• Medications — Blood pressure medications, antidepressants, and other drugs can cause dizziness as a side effect.
• Migraine — About one in three people who get migraines also feel dizziness. That’s according to the American Medical Association.
• Motion sickness — Spinning, riding in a car, or going on a boat or cruise can cause dizziness and nausea.
• Postural hypotension — This occurs when you feel dizzy, changing levels from sitting down to standing up or from lying down to sitting. In this case, dizziness symptoms usually only last a few minutes. This condition affects about 6% of adults.

Serious Causes of Dizziness

In rare cases, dizziness can have a serious cause. These include:

• Brain injury, like a severe concussion.
• Brain cysts or tumors.
• Carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Heart problems, like arrhythmia.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Stroke.
• Sudden hearing loss, which can become permanent without treatment.

When to See a Doctor

You should see a doctor for dizziness that doesn’t go away. You should also talk to a doctor if you have dizziness that keeps returning or is negatively affecting your life.

Your doctor will ask when the dizziness started and how it feels. Some health problems cause lightheadedness, which is a feeling like you might faint or lose your balance.

Other health problems, especially inner ear problems, can cause vertigo. This type of dizziness makes you feel like the room is spinning.

Knowing whether you feel lightheadedness or vertigo will help your doctor narrow down the cause.

Your doctor will also want to know when your dizziness episodes first started and when they happen. For example, do you feel dizzy when standing up or moving your head to the side? Are you more likely to feel dizzy when you’re feeling stressed?

Your doctor may ask you to perform certain tasks, like balancing on one foot, following a moving object with your eyes, and turning your head. These tests help the doctor determine if the dizziness is due to a brain issue.

Your doctor will also ask whether you experience any other symptoms like dizziness. Then, they will order tests to narrow down the cause further. These tests may include:

• Blood tests to check blood sugar and iron levels.
• Imaging, like a CT or MRI scan, to check for signs of stroke or another brain injury.
• Tests to check your heart function.

Your doctor may also refer you to a brain doctor or an ear, nose, and throat doctor for further testing.

When Dizziness Is an Emergency

You should go to the emergency department if you feel so dizzy you can’t walk. You should also seek emergency care if you experience dizziness and other serious symptoms. Such symptoms are a possible sign of a stroke, carbon monoxide poisoning, a concussion, or another problem.

Seek emergency care if you have sudden dizziness along with one or more of these symptoms:

• A change in facial expression (drooping on one side).
• A headache unlike one you’ve ever had before.
• Chest pain.
• Confusion.
• Numbness.
• Slurred speech.
• Sudden hearing loss in one or both ears.
• Swallowing problems.
• Vomiting or nausea.
• Weakness.

How to Treat Dizziness

If there’s a simple and short-term reason for dizziness (like stress or dehydration), you can:

• Breathe deeply.
• Drink water.
• Eat a snack if your blood sugar is low.
• Move slowly when rising from a chair or bed.
• Open the window if you’re in a vehicle and have motion sickness to increase oxygen.

Dizziness treatment depends on the cause and can include lifestyle changes, medication, or even surgery. Treatments that may help include:

• Changing the dosage of medication that causes dizziness as a side effect or switching to another medication.
• Lifestyle changes, like reducing alcohol, salt, and caffeine intake and reducing stress levels. These can help reduce dizziness caused by issues such as blood pressure problems, migraines, and inner ear conditions.
• Medication to treat inner ear problems, low iron, blood pressure problems, or other health problems that may cause dizziness.
• Over-the-counter or prescription medications to treat dizziness itself.
• Doctors recommend physical therapy to improve balance if balance issues contribute to dizziness.
• Doctors use the Epley maneuver to treat dizziness from BPPV. It involves turning the head to a position that causes vertigo, lying down, and sitting back up again.
• Surgery for severe forms of inner ear disease.

It may take several weeks or months of taking medication, making lifestyle changes, or participating in physical therapy before you notice your dizziness improving. If it doesn’t, see your doctor again. They may need to run more tests or try another treatment.