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Vestibular Disorder Basics

Posted , 5 users are following.

arria
arria

Keep after your doctor to stay on track!  

For some of the people who are anxious about a first attack -

The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that process sensory information involved with balance.

Vestibular disorders can be caused by disease, injury, poisoning by drugs or chemicals, autoimmune causes, traumatic brain injury, or aging. Many vestibular disorders occur from unexplained causes.

Symptoms of vestibular disorders include dizziness, vertigo (a spinning sensation), imbalance, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), fatigue, jumping vision, nausea/vomiting, hearing loss, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties.

Vestibular disorders are difficult to diagnose. It is common for a patient to consult 4 or more physicians over a period several years before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

There is no “cure” for most vestibular disorders. They may be treated with medication, physical therapy, lifestyle changes (e.g. diet, exercise), surgery, or positional maneuvers. In most cases, patients must adapt to a host of life-altering limitations.

Vestibular disorders impact patients and their families physically, mentally, and emotionally. In addition to physical symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo, vestibular patients can experience poor concentration, memory, and mental fatigue. Many vestibular patients suffer from anxiety and depression due to fear of falling and the loss of their independence.

Common vestibular disorders include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Ménière’s disease, labyrinthitis, vestibular neuritis, and vestibular migraine. 

2 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest arria

    Posted

    Very good arria. Vestibular disorders create such debilitating conditions. There really should be more high profile attention given to this illness. 

     

  • arria
    arria

    Posted

    Hi Peter, there seem to be hundreds of illnesses and organisations all with their own color of ribbon and awareness. I have not seen one for vestibular problems.  We need more respect :-)  We should have a spiral ribbon.
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 arria

      Posted

      the VEDA website that Arria is quoting  above is actually a great organisation for vestibular  problems ,,so go there there and check it out.Lots of,advice and you will learn a lot. I have been advocating them For 2 years now as they seem to be the only site, (They also have a Facebook page) who,have a comprehensive approach to our problems. 
  • gillian76726
    gillian76726 arria

    Posted

    yEs I recognise this from VEDA website, they are wonderful.
  • Mary_McAvoy
    Mary_McAvoy arria

    Posted

    I had no clue that people suffered like this until it happened to me. Since then I have been trying to spread the word as much as I can. Because vestibular disorders are so hard to diagnose and treat, I think it's easy for others to ignore or belittle what we're going through. This forum and Veda both have brought me sanity in an otherwise chaotic miserable mess. 
    • Guest
      Guest Mary_McAvoy

      Posted

      Well said Mary. Letus all keep raising the profile and highlighting the effect of this horrible and debilitating condition.
    • alison17886
      alison17886 Guest

      Posted

      i agree it really needs to be recognised more i feel as if my life is over cos of damn dizziness its ruined my life
    • Guest
      Guest alison17886

      Posted

      The moderators on this Forum are somewhat over zealous with regards to anyone posting a website, even though we are on here trying to help fellow suffers.

      The site is Veda. This stands for vestibular disorder association.

    • Emis_Moderator
      Emis_Moderator Guest

      Posted

      Any post that contains a link will go for moderation unless it is from this site. VEDA have been mentioned many times in this group and users can find them easily by the information posted several times in this thread alone. I will ask our content manager if we can add them to our support directory then users can post the link to our page on them to save moderation. I'll reply here when I hear back or with an alternative suggestion if it is not added.

      Regards,

      Alan

    • Emis_Moderator
      Emis_Moderator Guest

      Posted

      Hi all,

      As VEDA is a US site it will not be added until we update the directory for the US (and others) audience. So I've added a pinned discussion to the group as per link below which includes the link to VEDA. If users want to guide others to the site posting the link below will not cause the post to go for moderation as an in-house link.

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/useful-resources-488619

      Regards,

      Alan

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