A Case of Dizziness Due to Specific Phobia Associated with Repetitive Sound Exposure

It is well known that anxiety causes dizziness and/or vertigo. Herein, we report a rare case of vertigo caused by a specific phobia associated with repetitive sounds. The patient was a 26-year-old man who worked as a nurse. Ever since he had been around 10 years old, he had suffered from dizziness when he heard repetitive sounds, such as the sounds of train joints. When he was 26 years old, he heard an electrocardiogram alarm at work and became dizzy; he was unable to continue working and visited our clinic. Before the dizziness, he had experienced anxiety and sweating. He had no gaze or positional nystagmus, and the audiogram showed no hearing loss. The calorie test, cVEMP, and oVEMP showed no significant abnormalities. Brain MRI and ear CT showed no abnormalities. Although his total score on the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) was not high (24 points), the emotional score was high (18 points). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score was 11 points for anxiety and 9 points for depression. We diagnosed the vertigo as having been caused by a specific phobia associated with repeated sound stimulation. The patient was then explained the etiology and received sound exposure therapy. After three months, the dizziness resolved, and the patient was able to work again.