For many people living with vestibular disorders, the physical symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and imbalance are only part of the story. The emotional and psychological impact can be just as significant. At the Life Rebalanced Live virtual conference, a session titled “The Trauma of Being Dizzy: Addressing Fear, Avoidance & Emotional Injury” explored how chronic dizziness can affect mental health, relationships, and daily life. The session unfolded in two parts. First, mental health professionals Dr. Joanna Wolfson, a psychologist, and Jen Warner, a licensed clinical social worker, discussed how vestibular disorders can trigger trauma responses and why addressing emotional health is an important part of recovery. In the second half, vestibular patients Careen Hanouche and Teena Hittie shared their personal experiences navigating fear, setbacks, and the path toward healing. Together, their insights highlighted how dizziness can affect both the body and the mind—and why recovery often involves addressing both. When […]

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VEDA - Published Mon Mar 30 2026 15:00    View Full Story...

If you’ve been told you have impacted earwax and are experiencing dizziness or vertigo, you’re not alone in wondering what to do next. It can feel confusing—especially if your symptoms have already started to improve. Should you leave it alone? Could removing the wax make things worse? Let’s walk through what we know and what it means for you. Can impacted earwax really cause dizziness? Yes—impacted earwax (also called cerumen impaction) can contribute to dizziness or vertigo in some cases. Earwax is normally helpful. It protects your ear by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria. But when too much wax builds up or becomes hardened, it can block the ear canal. When that happens, symptoms may include: Dizziness A feeling of fullness in the ear Hearing loss Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)  The reason this can affect balance is that your ears play a critical role in helping […]

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VEDA - Published Fri Mar 27 2026 01:00    View Full Story...

This is an excerpt from the book, “Professionally Unstable: Tales of Treating the Desperately Dizzy” by Dr. Anthony Veglia, DPT.  Awaiting me in the lobby was a middle-aged man, monotone in voice, flat in affect, and hard of hearing. With his diagnosis, I knew that I would be just a single step in his long journey. Years prior to this man’s entrance into my clinic, a tumor was found in his skull. For those with undiagnosed dizziness, the fear of an unknown brain tumor is a worry that I am constantly hearing from patients. Fortunately, a tumor being the cause of chronic dizziness is so much rarer than a straightforward vestibular diagnosis. That being said, this would be the exact type of tumor they are likely imagining. Unlike many vestibular diagnoses, a slow-growing, benign tumor will not appear with sudden, explosive levels of symptoms.  “So, it was a left acoustic […]

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VEDA - Published Wed Mar 25 2026 19:34    View Full Story...

For many people, developing a vestibular disorder can feel like their life has been turned upside down. Symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, brain fog, and imbalance can affect work, relationships, daily routines, and even a person’s sense of identity. It’s common for patients to spend months—or years—searching for answers, navigating medical appointments, and trying to understand what is happening to their bodies. But as speakers emphasized during the Life Rebalanced Live virtual conference session titled “You Are Not Your Diagnosis: Living Well with Chronic Vestibular Conditions,” a diagnosis does not define a person’s future. Living well with a vestibular condition is not only possible—it begins with shifting how we understand symptoms, identity, and recovery. The session featured vestibular physical therapists and health coaches Dr. Kathleen Stross and Dr. Megan Daly, followed by a patient panel with Adam Lindo, who lives with vestibular neuritis, and Lara Bishop, who lives with vestibular […]

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VEDA - Published Mon Mar 23 2026 14:00    View Full Story...

When people think about a stroke, many imagine sudden paralysis, facial drooping, and/or trouble speaking. However, other symptoms are often experienced and problematic — persistent vertigo and dizziness. These sensations are described as spinning (of the person or the environment), imbalance, or lightheadedness, and can linger for months or even years. This study demonstrates that vertigo and dizziness are common after stroke, have a negative effect on daily living, and are not specifically addressed by current stroke care.  Why This Study Was Done Stroke survivors often have lingering symptoms that make life harder, even after doctors have treated the immediate medical emergency. Researchers indicate that long-term quality of life after stroke can be lower than expected, and that most post-stroke care focuses on things like physical weakness or language problems. Vertigo and dizziness — which are subjective symptoms that people report themselves — haven’t been systematically studied in large groups […]

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VEDA - Published Fri Mar 20 2026 00:21    View Full Story...

At the 2026 Life Rebalanced Live virtual conference, the Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA) opened the week with an important conversation about innovation in vestibular care. The session, Hope in Innovation: Emerging Therapies for Chronic Dizziness, explored how research, technology, and patient experience are shaping the future for people living with dizziness and balance disorders. The discussion featured two vestibular experts—Dr. Sue Whitney, DPT, PhD, and Dr. David Hale, MD—followed by a patient panel with Neil Canham and Alicia Wolf, also known as The Dizzy Cook. Together, they highlighted the promise of new ideas in the field while emphasizing the importance of evaluating emerging therapies carefully and thoughtfully. Innovation Is More Than New Technology When people think about innovation in medicine, they often imagine new devices or medications. But the speakers emphasized that innovation in vestibular care goes far beyond technology. Dr. Hale described innovation as new ways of approaching diagnosis, […]

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VEDA - Published Mon Mar 16 2026 22:40    View Full Story...

VeDA supports researchers working to improve care for vestibular patients by providing grants to cover travel expenses so they can present their original research on projects focused on vestibular patient outcomes at medical conferences. Congratulations to Andrew Wagner, who received a grant from VeDA to attend the American Balance Society Annual Meeting and present his research, highlighted below. Understanding Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction Why One Test Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story People living with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH)—a condition in which the balance organs in both inner ears are damaged—often describe feeling unsteady, dizzy, or disconnected from their surroundings. In the United States alone, BVH affects more than 64,000 adults and can dramatically reduce quality of life. New research by Andrew Wagner, PT, DPT, PhD, from Creighton University, sheds important light on why this condition can look so different from one person to the next. Why BVH Is Hard to Measure […]

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VEDA - Published Wed Mar 11 2026 21:44    View Full Story...

Vestibular Patient Journey: Insights From Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA) Registry Vestibular disorders — conditions that affect the inner ear and brain systems responsible for balance — can be among the most frustrating and life-altering health challenges a person faces. People with vestibular disorders often live with persistent vertigo (a spinning sensation), unsteadiness, imbalance, and dizziness that interfere with everyday activities such as walking, working, driving, or even standing. Despite how common and disabling these symptoms are, vestibular conditions are notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat, in part because they can appear so differently from person to person and because traditional clinical research has not always reflected patients’ real-world experiences. To help fill that gap, the Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA) launched an online Patient Registry to gather information directly from people who live with vestibular disorders — their symptoms, diagnostic journeys, treatments, and quality-of-life impacts. This registry was built to collect […]

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VEDA - Published Fri Feb 20 2026 18:23    View Full Story...

Vestibular disorders affect the inner ear and brain areas that control balance and spatial orientation. They can cause dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, and other symptoms that can be confusing and overwhelming.  These conditions are notoriously hard to diagnose because symptoms often overlap between different disorders. For example, someone with Menière’s disease, vestibular migraine, or persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) might all report similar sensations, even though the underlying causes and treatments are different. Traditionally, doctors rely on a combination of patient history, symptom descriptions, physical exams, and special tests to make a diagnosis. This process takes skill, experience, and time—and it’s not unusual for patients to see several specialists before getting the right answer. The Goal of the Study Researchers wanted to see if they could build a machine learning (ML) tool—a type of artificial intelligence—that could help doctors sort through the clues and narrow down the possibilities for six common vestibular […]

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VEDA - Published Mon Feb 16 2026 01:58    View Full Story...

Question: My wife suffers from occasional bouts of intense dizziness and has motion sensitivity. The vestibular nerve got tweaked, and she became totally incapacitated for a long time. She is mostly better now, but things like receiving a massage where she is face down for an hour cause symptoms. I’m looking to understand the vestibular nerve and whether tight muscles, stress, or vertebrae can impact it.  Your question reflects something many families notice after a vestibular injury: even when someone is “mostly better,” certain positions, movements, or physical experiences—like lying face down during a massage—can still bring symptoms back. This can feel confusing and discouraging, so let’s break down what’s going on in a clear, practical way. What does the vestibular nerve do? The vestibular nerve carries balance and motion information from the inner ear to the brain. It tells the brain how the head is moving, where gravity is, […]

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VEDA - Published Tue Jan 20 2026 18:54    View Full Story...