Vertigo With Tinnitus or Hearing Changes: What to Log

Updated 29 Oct 2026

When the room spins and an ear rings or goes muffled at the same time, it is hard to remember afterward which came first, which ear it was, or how long the hearing change lasted.

This guide covers what to log when vertigo comes with tinnitus or hearing changes: the urgent signs first, the ear and the sound, timing beside each attack, medicines, sleep, and what to bring to your GP. Your clinician finds the cause.

Get urgent help first

The NHS advises calling 999 or going to A&E if you have vertigo and double vision or loss of vision, hearing loss, trouble speaking, or leg or arm weakness, numbness, or tingling (NHS vertigo guidance). It advises asking for an urgent GP appointment or getting help from NHS 111 if you have vertigo and a severe headache, are being sick or feel very sick, or have a very high temperature (NHS vertigo guidance). In the US, call 911 or go to the ER for these signs, and use urgent care or your primary care doctor where the NHS mentions a GP.

For tinnitus, it advises going to A&E or calling 999 if you have tinnitus after a head injury, or tinnitus with sudden hearing loss, weakness in the muscles of your face, or a spinning sensation (vertigo) (NHS tinnitus guidance). It advises an urgent GP appointment for tinnitus that beats in time with your pulse (NHS tinnitus guidance). It says not to drive to A&E (NHS vertigo guidance).

New hearing loss with spinning is a reason to get help, never a reason to wait and log. Once you are safe, write down what happened.

In Vertigo Journey, My Care Team keeps the numbers you were given.

What to log about the ear and the sound

The NHS describes tinnitus as hearing noises that do not come from an outside source, and says it can sound like ringing, buzzing, whooshing, humming, hissing, throbbing, or music or singing (NHS tinnitus guidance). It says you may hear these sounds in 1 or both ears, or in your head, and they may come and go or be there all the time (NHS tinnitus guidance).

It says tinnitus is often linked to some form of hearing loss, Ménière's disease, conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, or multiple sclerosis, anxiety or depression, and certain medicines (NHS tinnitus guidance).

For each episode, log which ear, the word that best fits the sound, how loud it was on a 0 to 10 scale, and whether hearing felt muffled, full, or normal. Use the same words each time, so changes stand out.

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily Journal keeps the sound in your own words.

How to log timing beside each attack

The NHS says vertigo feels like you or everything around you is spinning, enough to affect your balance, and that an attack can last from a few seconds to hours, or for many days or months if severe (NHS vertigo guidance). It lists inner ear problems as the most common causes, including BPPV, labyrinthitis, vestibular neuritis, and Ménière's disease (NHS vertigo guidance).

For each attack, log the start time, how long the spinning lasted, and whether tinnitus or hearing changes came before, during, or after it. Note whether the ear sound changed when the attack ended.

That order matters to a clinician sorting inner ear causes, and it is an easy detail to forget by the next appointment. A short note within the hour beats a full entry the next day.

For movement-linked attacks, see vertigo after head movement. To compare feelings, see vertigo vs lightheadedness.

In Vertigo Journey, the Flare Tracker marks each attack with its time.

What to log about medicines

The NHS says some types of medicine can cause vertigo, and to check the leaflet to see if it is listed as a side effect (NHS vertigo guidance). It says tinnitus can be a side effect of some chemotherapy medicines, antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and aspirin (NHS tinnitus guidance).

For vertigo treatment, it says treatment depends on the cause, a GP might prescribe antibiotics if it is caused by an infection, you could be given exercises to correct your balance, and antihistamines can sometimes help (NHS vertigo guidance).

List every medicine with its start date, including pain relievers bought without a prescription. Mark the first day of tinnitus or hearing change beside the list. If a new medicine lines up with new ear symptoms, take the dates to your GP or pharmacist. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

In Vertigo Journey, My Meds keeps each medicine with its dates.

What to log about sleep, stress, and coping

The NHS says to try to relax, because anxiety can make vertigo worse (NHS vertigo guidance). For tinnitus, it suggests trying to relax with deep breathing or yoga, finding ways to improve sleep, such as a bedtime routine or cutting down on caffeine, and avoiding things that can make it worse, such as stress or loud background noises (NHS tinnitus guidance). It advises against total silence, saying soft music or sounds (sound therapy) may distract you (NHS tinnitus guidance).

It advises seeing a GP if tinnitus is bothering you, for example affecting your sleep or concentration, or making you feel anxious and depressed (NHS tinnitus guidance).

Each evening, log sleep, stress, caffeine, and noise exposure, beside tinnitus loudness and any attack. Note what you tried, such as soft sound at bedtime, and whether it helped.

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily check-in holds sleep and stress scores.

What to bring to your GP

The NHS advises seeing a GP if you have vertigo that will not go away or keeps coming back (NHS vertigo guidance), and if you have tinnitus regularly or constantly, or it is getting worse (NHS tinnitus guidance). It says the GP may look in your ears for causes they can treat, like an ear infection or a build-up of earwax, may check for hearing loss, and may refer you to a specialist (NHS tinnitus guidance).

For vertigo, it says a GP will ask about your symptoms, may do a simple test moving you quickly from sitting to lying to check your balance, and might refer you for further tests (NHS vertigo guidance).

Bring each attack with its timing, the ear and the sound, hearing changes, medicine start dates, and sleep notes. Ask whether a hearing check is needed, and write the answer down.

If a referral is pending, see what to track while waiting for the specialist.

In Vertigo Journey, the Doctor Report brings the weeks together.

How Vertigo Journey can help

A notebook can hold one bad day. The harder part is keeping attacks, ear sounds, hearing changes, medicines, and sleep in one dated record.

Vertigo Journey is a personal vertigo tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It records symptoms, medicines, test dates, and visits in one dated history. Below is what you can use and how each part helps:

• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across symptoms, mood, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, including spin intensity, duration, triggers, nausea, and balance limits, so links you would not remember on your own show up side by side.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when screens feel unsteady, that add detail a score alone cannot show.
• Flare Tracker — Mark an episode clearly worse than usual, so you can tell a one-off spike from a repeating pattern.
• My Meds — Medicine names and timing, so you can line up a start date or dose change with episode frequency and duration.
• My Labs — Result dates for hearing tests, imaging, and other workups, compared with how you felt in the weeks before and after.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim, such as balance exercises, and see whether it held and whether episodes changed.
• Learn — Short education topics on vertigo themes such as positional triggers, balance, sleep, and visit preparation.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions already see your logged history, which helps with visit wording or questions after a new diagnosis.
• My Care Team — A profile for each clinician, plus upcoming appointments and notes for each visit, used before, during, and after appointments.
• Doctor Report — Two views: the Appointment Planning Report helps you prepare what to ask, and Generate Report, opened from a saved doctor, builds a dated summary of your recent progress for that doctor.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that add context about you across weeks.
• Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines when salt, alcohol, or caffeine is something you and your clinician are watching.
• Period Tracker — Cycle dates, so you can see whether episodes or headaches cluster at a certain point in the cycle.
• Weight Tracker — Weight entries when weight is part of what you and your clinician are watching.

Everything you log builds one history. Guided forms include the key questions, and you can add custom symptoms when you need your own labels. Vertigo Journey is free to download.

Sources

• NHS — Vertigo
• NHS — Tinnitus

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