1. Balance Disorders Slideshow
2. Take the Vertigo Quiz
3. Tinnitus Slideshow: Why Are My Ears Ringing?

Many times, you cannot determine the cause of labyrinthitis. Often, the condition follows a viral illness such as a cold or the flu. Viruses, or your body's immune response to them, may cause inflammation that results in labyrinthitis.

Other potential causes are these:

• Trauma or injury to your head or ear
  
  
• Bacterial infections: If found in nearby structures such as your middle ear, such infections may cause the following:
  
  
  • Fluid to collect in the labyrinth (serous labyrinthitis)
    
    
  • Fluid to directly invade the labyrinth, causing pus-producing (suppurative) labyrinthitis
  
  
• Allergies
  
  
• Alcohol abuse
  
  
• A benign tumor of the middle ear
  
  
• Certain medications taken in high doses
  
  
  • Furosemide (Lasix)
    
    
  • Aspirin
    
    
  • Some IV antibiotics
    
    
  • Phenytoin (Dilantin) at toxic levels
  
  
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: With this condition, small stones, or calcified particles, break off within the vestibule and bounce around. The particles trigger nerve impulses that the brain interprets as movement.
  
  
• More serious causes of vertigo can mimic labyrinthitis, but these occur rarely.
  
  
  • Tumors at the base of the brain
    
    
  • Strokes or insufficient blood supply to the brainstem or the nerves surrounding the labyrinth

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