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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Seren Morris

What is acute vertigo? George Ezra cancels London O2 gig after diagnosis

George Ezra has cancelled his London O2 gig after being diagnosed with acute vertigo.

A statement posted to his Twitter account read: “Hi everyone, unfortunately, George has started feeling incredibly unwell this afternoon. He’s been diagnosed by a doctor as having acute vertigo and as a result, we sincerely regret to announce that tonight’s show at the O2 in London will not be able to go ahead as planned.”

The show will be rescheduled and fans who had tickets for the cancelled gig will be able to attend.

What is acute vertigo?

Vertigo is when you feel as if you or everything around you is spinning. It is more than feeling dizzy and can affect your balance. The NHS says a vertigo attack can last from a few seconds to hours, and can go on for days or months in people with severe vertigo.

Acute means that the symptoms are severe.

What causes vertigo?

Vertigo is usually caused by inner ear problems, such as the following

  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) – where specific head movements cause vertigo
  • Labyrinthitis – an inner ear infection caused by a cold or flu virus
  • Vestibular neuritis – inflammation of the vestibular nerve
  • Ménière’s disease – a rare inner ear condition that sometimes involves ringing in the ear (tinnitus) or loss of hearing

Is vertigo just a fear of heights?

Vertigo is often used to describe a fear of heights, but this is incorrect – a fear of heights and feeling dizzy when looking down from a high place is called acrophobia.

In the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo, the detective suffers from both acrophobia and vertigo.

What are the symptoms of vertigo?

Vertigo is itself a symptom of a condition. But people who experience vertigo may also experience the following symptoms:

  • Loss of balance
  • Feeling sick or being sick
  • Dizziness

People experiencing vertigo are encouraged to lie down in a quiet dark room, sit down if they feel dizzy and move their head slowly and carefully.

At night, people should turn the lights on if they get up, sleep with two or more pillows and get out of bed slowly.

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