6. Vertigo So Bad You Can’t Stand — With No Ear Infection
The room doesn’t just spin — it whips like you’re on a carnival ride that won’t stop. You drop to your knees, terrified, certain you have the worst inner-ear bug ever.
But when the ER checks your ears? Perfectly healthy.
That’s because a stroke in the cerebellum or brainstem can mimic severe vertigo. One clue: classic vertigo usually comes with ringing ears or hearing loss. Stroke vertigo usually doesn’t.
5. Confusion That Hits Like a Light Switch
You’re mid-sentence and suddenly don’t know what day it is.
Your spouse asks a simple question and you stare blankly — unable to form words.
Ninety seconds later you’re joking again and swear nothing happened.
This transient global aphasia or disorientation is the brain short-circuiting. Families call it “a senior moment.” Neurologists call it a five-alarm fire.
4. The Worst Headache of Your Life — Out of Absolute Nowhere
No warning. No slow build like a migraine. Just BAM — an explosion inside your skull that makes you drop everything and grip your head.
Patients describe it as “someone hit me with a baseball bat from the inside.” Especially common in hemorrhagic strokes, this headache can come with vomiting and light sensitivity — but the sudden, explosive onset is the red flag.
