Rotational vertebral artery occlusion syndrome with vertigo due to "labyrinthine excitation"

Leftward head rotations in a patient with a rotational vertebral artery occlusion syndrome elicited recurrent uniform attacks of severe rotatory vertigo and tinnitus in the right ear. These attacks were accompanied by a mixed clockwise torsional downbeat nystagmus with a horizontal component toward the right. A transient ischemia of the right labyrinth probably induced the attacks and led to a combined transient excitation of the right anterior and horizontal semicircular canals as well as the cochlea.