Overview

Vestibular (inner ear) disorders can cause dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, hearing changes, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and other symptoms, with potentially devastating effects on a person's day-to-day functioning, ability to work, relationships with family and friends, and quality of life.

History

VEDA was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1983 as the Dizziness and Balance Disorders Association of America (DBDAA). Its goal was to provide general information to the public about vestibular (inner ear) disorders. With media attention, demand for the organization's services grew rapidly. In 1987 the name was changed to the Vestibular Disorders Association, and VEDA was chartered as a national organization.

VEDA now offers more than 70 publications on general and specific topics related to vestibular disorders. It also provides a directory service by U.S. state and world region, listing health professionals who specialize in vestibular disorders. In addition, VEDA serves as a hub for support groups located around the world and manages a pen-pal type service for VEDA members who wish to communicate with others experiencing the impacts of a vestibular disorder.

Benefits

The goal of VRT is to retrain the brain to recognize and process signals from the vestibular system in coordination with information from vision and proprioception. This often involves desensitizing the balance system to movements that provoke symptoms

In most cases, balance improves if the exercises are correctly and faithfully performed. Muscle tension, headaches, and fatigue will diminish, and symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and nausea will decrease or disappear. Many times, vestibular VRT is so successful that no other treatment is required.

Procedure

When vertigo and the other assorted symptoms of vestibular dysfunction are not satisfactorily controlled by therapy and treatment, surgery may become an option. Some of the procedures sketched here may be meant primarily to preserve or improve hearing; however, they are included because of their intended control of vertigo/disequilibrium as well.

If surgery is required to correct an inner ear problem, therapy will also be an important part of treatment. A therapist may perform a vestibular evaluation before surgery, make daily visits during the hospital stay to help with the temporary increase in balance problems that often accompanies surgery, and may provide a series of simple exercises to do for home care after discharge from the hospital. Often, therapists provide further therapy after a person has recovered from the surgery.

Source of information: www.vestibular.org