Common Vestibular Issues
Dizziness Therapy & Treatment Melbourne
Understand the cause of your dizziness and work with our experienced team to find relief.
The Vertigo Co
Understanding Dizziness And Vertigo
Up to 30% of adults and 10% of children suffer from dizziness and/or vertigo at some stage during their life. These common issues may range from an occasional unsettling occurrence for some people to a frequent problem that interferes with daily life for others.
People who deal with dizziness or vertigo may have an accompanying balance disorder or may feel unsteady on their feet when walking. Some people describe the feeling as similar to being “drunk”. In many instances, the cause for these problems is an issue with the underlying vestibular system. This involves the balance organ in the inner ear, which includes the semicircular canals and otolith organs, and/or the part of the brain that plays a significant role in balance, which is the vestibular nuclei in the brain stem.
Understanding the root cause of your dizziness and related symptoms is crucial to working towards improvement. Our experienced team will provide a thorough assessment and evaluation to identify underlying issues and develop the best plan of action for you. Visit The Vertigo Co for Vestibular Physiotherapy, Melbourne.
Common Symptoms of Vestibular Issues:
Vestibular issues can involve a variety of symptoms depending on the cause. Some of the most common include:
Dizziness
Dizziness can include various sensations such as rocking, bobbing, swaying, tilting, floating, or feeling like you are on a boat. It differs from vertigo, which is more specific to a spinning sensation.
Vertigo
People with this issue often say that it feels as if their surroundings are moving or spinning around them, or that they are moving even though they are still. At times these symptoms can be purely positional (i.e. when rolling in bed or getting out of bed for example). Sometimes this is accompanied by other symptoms such as walking and balance difficulties, and nausea.
Light-Headedness
This issue can feel as if you may faint or lose your balance. This sensation of disequilibrium, which is a sense of being off balance, can involve unsteadiness, weakness, fatigue, and nausea.
Veering From Side to Side When Walking
Often those with vestibular issues have a perception of veering when walking or a perception as though they are “drunk”. If you completely lose your balance and fall to the ground, it may be frightening and unsettling. Falling is a concerning symptom of vestibular issues as it can result in injury. It is important to seek professional guidance and treatment for these issues such as from a Vestibular Physiotherapist.
the Vertigo Co
Vestibular System Disorders
The symptoms described above can be associated with a number of Vestibular disorders including the following:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is an inner ear condition that causes short bursts of vertigo when the head is in certain positions such as lying down, rolling over, looking up, or bending over.
Vestibular Migraine
A Vestibular Migraine is a type of migraine that involves dizziness as the prominent feature, rather than the more common severe head pain. Other common symptoms may include vertigo or dizziness, headache, imbalance, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. It can also cause perceived hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and aural fullness (a feeling like your ears are full or blocked).
Vestibular Neuritis or Labyrinthitis
Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis results from an infection in the inner ear (the vestibular system), causing intense bouts of vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and significant unsteadiness when walking.
Menieres Disease
This is a chronic inner ear disorder resulting from abnormally large amounts of fluid collecting in the inner ear. This buildup of fluid, which is known as endolymph, can cause recurrent bouts of vertigo, mid to low frequency hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness (pressure in the ears).
Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
A type of chronic non-vertiginous dizziness resulting in persistent sensations of rocking and swaying. This may worsen in busy and overstimulating environments such as supermarkets.
Other Vestibular Disorders
There are many other balance disorders such as:
- Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) - which causes persistent sensations of rocking and swaying after disembarking off a ship, boat or other forms of transport.
- Acoustic neuroma, which is a type of tumour in the inner ear.
- Vestibular Paroxysmia - causes very brief episodes of vertigo due to vascular compression of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
- Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence (SSCD) - caused by a thinning in the bone over the superior semicircular canal resulting in vertigo and sensitivity to sounds or autophony (hearing your own voice or blinking).
- Perilymphatic Fistula results in vertigo and hearing loss associated with changes in pressure such as blowing the nose or straining.
- Ototoxicity, typically caused by a drug called gentomyocin which is toxic to the Vestibular System.
- Motion sickness.
- Neurological conditions, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or cerebellar ataxia.
Diagnosing Dizziness And Balance Issues
Vestibular physiotherapy is recognised to play a significant role in dealing with vestibular disorders and balance problems. At The Vertigo Co, our Vestibular Physiotherapists take a special interest in these symptoms and disorders. During your first consultation, your Physiotherapist will undertake a variety of assessment approaches to come to a diagnosis. They will discuss with you factors such as how long you have been dealing with these issues, your symptoms, triggers, and what provides relief. They will also investigate any related medical history and scans.
Your physiotherapist will then perform a physical examination and tests to evaluate aspects such as your eye movements, ear function balance, and possibly neurological function, and coordination. Once your physiotherapist identifies the underlying cause and makes a diagnosis, they will develop a treatment plan.
Treating Dizziness And Balance Issues
Patient education regarding your condition
Canalith repositioning manoeuvres for the treatment of BPPV
Balance training
Fall prevention exercises
Home exercise program
Dietary modification
Supplement prescription
FAQ About Dizziness And Vertigo
Vestibular issues and dizziness can often be linked to stress and anxiety. Dizziness may be part of an anxiety disorder, for instance quite commonly in the case of Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD). Please note, not all cases of PPPD are linked to Anxiety. On the other hand, vestibular disorders may lead to anxiety related to triggers or symptoms. For more information regarding the Dizzy-Anxious Cycle, check out our blog post!
This sensory system is crucial to aspects such as spatial orientation and positioning, coordination, balance, and eye movements. It is located in the inner ear and interacts with other ear structures, the brain, and areas in the body related to coordination and balance.
There is a wide variety of other conditions not related to the vestibular system that may cause dizziness, which is why it is important to seek professional guidance. These include issues such as low blood pressure, low blood sugar, anaemia, thyroid disorders, certain medications, Cardiac conditions such as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Concussion.
Seeing a Doctor can be important for persistent dizziness, but it’s important to see the RIGHT Doctor. Just like for chest pain you see a Cardiologist, there is a specialist you see for dizziness. This type of doctor is called a Neuro-Otologist. Generally what we recommend is that if Vestibular Physiotherapy is not successful, your Physiotherapist can guide you on the appropriate Neuro-Otologist to see, as often wait lists are extensive hence Physiotherapy is the best first option.
The Vertigo Co
Vestibular Rehabilitation And Balance Therapy, Melbourne
If you are having issues with dizziness or vertigo, please contact us to organize a consultation. We will provide Vestibular Physiotherapy to help you decrease dizziness, improve balance, decrease fall risk, and relieve your current associated symptoms.