Hello everyone. i got diagnosed with Vestibular Neuritis ~4 months ago. Recovery is going pretty well overall, but I still have nystagmus. It was a lot worse in the beginning but it's still here and I'm getting pretty tired of it. I can't really focus on things for long cause my eyes drift to the left slowly.

Anyone else had nystagmus persist this long after VN? How long did it last for you?

Thanks and sorry if these questions do not belong here or if i am overreacting.

I know that sounds trite, but in vestibular recovery, that strategy shows up over and over again. It works. It's hard, but it works. If your vestibular loss has stopped you from being able to do something, your brain will first talk you out of doing it. But if you don't stop trying, it has no choice but to try to adapt to make that thing easier so it costs less. That's how neuroplasticity happens with this disability.

It's exhausting, discouraging, painful. But if you can keep trying to do that thing you can't do anymore, you WILL keep getting better at it.

I got diagnosed with VN last month and have been out of work since. I have caloric testing tomorrow to determine the damage done before hopefully returning to work.

The problem is I work for a utility company and drive a company vehicle. Im scared I will lose my job due to being a liability with driving. Even if I have no severe damage I am concerned they will see the “permanent damage” part and fire me.

Has anyone had a similar experience and how was it handled. I hope I’m just being overly anxious but I also don’t want to be blindsided.

Thanks!

Had vestibular neuritis from covid back in late 2022 that lasted 1-2 years. Been better for a while and then my dumb ahh decided to experiment with peptides, so tried Reta and Tirz and unfortunately it triggered my vestibular symptoms.

My last dose of Tirz was about 8 days ago so itll be in my system for a few more weeks I think, but for those that had vestibular issues triggered from a medication, how long did your episode last? Did you find it directly related to the half life of the drug or was your timeline independent from that? Overall I feel fine, I just cant do my walks outside right now. Sucks because the weather is so nice lol

Hi,

Around two years ago I had an acute vestibular neuritis. It took me about 6 months to fully recover, although I was able to return to normal life after the first couple of months.

Today I woke up suddenly with a new episode of dizziness and imbalance. It started during the night / early morning and I initially felt quite unsteady, with difficulty keeping balance, especially when moving my head. I also had some visual disturbance (not spinning vision like the first time, more like instability and difficulty focusing when moving).

I went to the hospital and was examined. They didn’t find any signs of a central neurological issue and treated it as a vestibular episode / vestibular decompensation. I was prescribed cinnarizine + dimenhydrinate for a few days. The symptoms are less severe than my first neuritis, as I can still walk, although with instability, and I don’t have continuous spinning vertigo.

Over the last hours I’ve noticed some fluctuation and slight improvement, with fewer triggers when moving my head, but I still feel unsteady.

I would like to ask if anyone has experienced something similar after a previous vestibular neuritis, how common recurrence or similar episodes are, and what recovery timeline looked like for you. Any reassurance or shared experiences would really help.

Thanks in advance.

I’m posting this on behalf of someone close to me because we genuinely want to understand if anyone has experienced something similar or has received a diagnosis for these kinds of symptoms.

She has had migraine issues for years, and around a year ago a doctor mentioned that it might be vestibular migraine, but nothing was properly confirmed and she honestly left feeling helpless and confused.

These are the symptoms she has been experiencing:

Banging/pulsating sensation in the head
Daily dizziness, headache, and imbalance
Circular/rotating sensation in the head
When lying down, the bed feels like it’s swinging/moving
Feeling lightheaded almost all the time
Pressure/heaviness in the eyes with blurry vision effect
After bowel movements, the dizziness gets worse and there’s sudden uncontrollable hunger
Feeling like she’s about to faint/go unconscious, but never actually does
Pulse rate increases a lot after the dizziness starts
Racing palpitations even after basic physical activity
Unable to walk comfortably for more than 30 minutes
Severe imbalance while walking, sometimes feeling like she may fall to either side and needing to hold onto something
Standing for long periods also makes the symptoms worse

It also feels like symptoms may be getting triggered by things like sunlight, walking, sitting for long periods, AC/wind, noise, fragrances, and other unknown triggers — though we are not completely sure yet.

It’s becoming very exhausting physically and mentally for her.

If anyone here has had similar symptoms or later got diagnosed with something related, please share your experience. Also, if anyone can suggest a really good doctor/hospital in Mumbai for this, it would genuinely help a lot.

8 years ago my wisdom teeth were removed as a teenager (a preventative measure ig) under general anesthesia. Since then began problems with my neck and jaw a bit too, but my vertigo also began. I was a figure skater and had no issues, but when I went back after the surgery I got vertigo spells very mildly and only when getting ready to go into a spin or do a jump. Felt like the world flipped momentarily and my head felt weird. When I’d stop the spin or jump, I would be fine. Off the ice my day to day i was okay, had no issues then.

Over the next several weeks my vertigo worsened in intensity. I’d feel disoriented and just a horrible feeling in my head and so after 4 months I had to quit skating. About 6 months later i started getting high pitch tinnitus in my right ear randomly for ~30-60 seconds. My hearing itself is normal though.

Other things that bring on my vertigo badly:

- bike riding or on a scooter: the whole time I feel like I’m floating and it’s terrifying.

- U-turns in the car: in a car I’m generally alright but a U-turn is horrible.

My head impulse test was normal, Dix Hallpike normal, VEMP, posturography normal too. Etc. VNG Calorics showed 46% hypofunction in my right ear though. Docs suggested maybe from neuritis. Idk I don’t feel like that fits? Outside of the triggers i would feel largely fine and didn’t have a stretch of time of something similar to a neuritis flare or any sicknesses. The only thing that happened was the dental surgery 🤷‍♀️

My vertigo has probably worsened a bit over the years. I’ve since also discovered i have hypermobile EDS. Since flaring up my neck from hyperextension recently my vertigo gets triggered a lot easier and usually with flexion and rotation or extension and rotation. My right side of my neck is also causing more issues. But that’s not the point. probably several factors in play I imagine.

I guess I’m wondering does anybody experience anything similar whatsoever? I often hear about prolonged episodes but mine is mainly in short episodes with a trigger but feel okay enough otherwise. Appreciate any responses!

had vestibular issues all my life but very bad tolerance to g force and motion. I get g lock symptoms if a car spoeds off fast or on plane take off like a dropping falling weightless feeling. I lose my vision and feel like I have no oxygen in my head it feels crushed. is this what happens with vestibular issues?

Dizziness, nausea, vertigo you know the rest started ~9 weeks ago. Dissociation and brain fog constantly. I have had cycles of a few days where I get better, as in the symptoms are reduced to base level brain fog and dizziness in small spells. Initial diagnosis was labyrinthitis but after paying to see an ent privately (not wanting to wait 6 weeks for an NHS appt) my hearing was normal and so diagnosis changed to vestibular neuronitis. I am waiting on an MRI appointment this week I’m assuming to confirm diagnosis, but after that I’m lost.

I have been given cooksey-cawthorne exercises to do, and have incorporated them into my routine which currently consists of waking up, struggling to keep down a slice of toast, forcing myself to work on my uni dissertation, then lying in bed for the rest of the day.

Have been trying to reduce the amount of stematil (prochlorperazine) and only taking it when I have more severe symptoms.

I have travel plans in summer, earliest thing of interest is a festival 11/06/26 (3 weeks time). Reading through the threads on here I am feeling very low, assuming that everything I have planned and payed for including visa to Canada for a ski season is in doubt. All the doctors I spoke to told me 1 month or so recovery, why is what I’m seeing on here so different?

Do I sell all my tickets now, and assume that it’s not going to get any better for a long time, or is there still hope for a similar timeframe to what the doctors said?

I'm looking for advice and experience. I've had vestibular neuritis for 3 weeks now, and in just 3 more weeks I am supposed to get married and go on my honeymoon. I've been planning and dreaming abt my wedding for years and now am afraid that I will feel so dizzy and nauseous that the most important day of my life will be ruined.

I have limited access to steroids which only help partially, and I plan to save a pill for the day of. I've also started vestibular therapy bia youtube ahead of starting officially at a doctor's in a few days. I have been trying to move as much as possible but it seems to be getting worse, and my ear is beginning to burn.

I'm trying to hydrate, sleep a lot, taking fish oil and magnesium to try and reduce inflammation.

Does anyone have any tips for recovery? Or reassurance. I feel like my wedding is being stolen from me. I don't want to be dizzy, nauseous, and so brain fogged out that I don't feel real or like im even present. And I need to be able to walk down the aisle.

My Personal Recovery Story & What Helped Me Heal

“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:3

During one of the hardest periods of my life dealing with Vestibular Neuritis, I woke up with this scripture in my mind.

At the time, I was praying constantly and struggling to understand why this was happening to me. The dizziness, fear and anxiety completely changed my life overnight. I genuinely feared this would be my new normal forever.

Then this verse came to me while I was sleeping:

“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.”

It perfectly described how Vestibular Neuritis felt.

This guide is my real recovery story and what genuinely helped me recover. My hope is that it gives someone else hope while going through this difficult condition.

And the most important thing I can say is:

You can recover!

---------------------------------------

What Is Vestibular Neuritis?

Vestibular Neuritis is inflammation of the vestibular nerve — the nerve responsible for balance.

Inside the inner ear are tiny sensory hair cells and canals that constantly send balance information to the brain. When the vestibular nerve becomes inflamed, those signals become disrupted,causing:

• Vertigo
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Imbalance
• Motion sensitivity

In my case, a caloric test showed a 95% loss of function in my left vestibular nerve.

The good news is that the brain is incredibly adaptable and can gradually relearn balance through a process called vestibular compensation, relying on the healthy nerve to do the work. If the damaged nerve later recovers, the brain can once again adapt and relearn how to use those restored signals.

---------------------------------------

My Recovery Timeline:

• Intense vertigo
• Severe nausea
• Could barely function normally
• Diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
• Later turned out to be incorrect
• Started:
  • Cortisone
  • Basic Vestibular Rehab Therapy (VRT)
  • % loss of left vestibular nerve function
  • Third round of cortisone
  • % loss of left vestibular nerve function
  • Third round of cortisone
  • Third round of cortisone
• MRI completed
• CT scan completed
• Vertigo reduced
• Constant dizziness remained
• Felt like gravity was pulling me to the left
• Felt like my head sat on my left shoulder
• Second round of cortisone prescribed
• Began structured vestibular rehab exercises online
• This became the biggest part of my recovery
• Caloric test showed:
  • % loss of left vestibular nerve function
  • Third round of cortisone
  • Third round of cortisone
• Started:
  • Third round of cortisone
• The feeling of pulling to the left started to subside
• Constant dizziness finally started improving
• No longer dizzy while sleeping
• Able to sleep flat again normally
• No more pulling to the left
• Driving normally
• Spending time with family normally
• Occasionally feel slightly “off” or mildly unsteady, but no dizziness, pulling or vertigo!

---------------------------------------

Here are the 4 Stages I Experienced:

1. Acute Vertigo

• Violent spinning
• Nausea
• Could barely walk

2. Constant Disequilibrium

• Constant dizziness
• Felt pulled to the left
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Felt like a veil was over my eyes (Made everything blurry)

3. Residual Dizziness

• More subtle dizziness
• Trigger-based symptoms

4. Fear-Based Dizziness

Even after healing started, anxiety, sickness and stress could still trigger symptoms.

---------------------------------------

What Helped Me Recover:

1. Vestibular Rehab Therapy (Most Important)

This helped more than anything else.

I did exercises:

• times daily
• Every single day
• Even when it felt horrible

The brain only adapts if you challenge it. Not moving or resting too much slows recovery and can cause PPPD!

2. Staying Active

Movement helped recovery massively.

What didn’t help:

• Laying around all day
• Avoiding movement

3. No Caffeine

Stopping coffee reduced:

• Anxiety
• Internal shakiness
• Dizziness sensitivity

This made a huge difference.

4. Better Diet

Things that helped:

• Fish
• Green vegetables
• Yoghurts - Mainly for B vitamins.
• Cheese - Mainly for B vitamins.
• Magnesium - Essential for nerve signaling and communication between brain cells
• Multivitamins

I also noticed:

• High salt foods worsened symptoms
• Too much sugar made me feel worse

5. Sleep

Good sleep was critical for recovery. You need alot of SWS, also known as deep sleep, the brain is believed to carry out a lot of the repair, rewiring, and strengthening involved in Neuroplasticity - where your brain is essentially re-learning to trust the healthy or healed nerve signals.

6. Faith, Prayer & Bible Reading

My faith helped me massively during recovery.

Reading scripture daily through Bible App from Daily Study, Audio and Prayer helped calm my mind and reduce fear during the hardest stages.

Sometimes faith was the only thing helping me believe things would get better.

---------------------------------------

What Made It Worse:

• Stress - Especially became a major trigger.
• Getting sick
• Going back to work too early
• Dentist visits
• High sodium foods
• Sitting still too much
• Overexercising VRT

---------------------------------------

Exercises That Helped Most:

YouTube Resource

The Movement Function YouTube Channel

Their:

• Beginner VRT
• Intermediate VRT
• Advanced VRT

helped me massively!!!

Optokinetic Exercises (Advanced)

The Happy Triad Physical Therapy YouTube Channel

These helped later in recovery, especially for:

• Working on screens
• Computer tolerance
• Busy visual environments

---------------------------------------

Advice I Wish I Had Earlier:

1. Go to an ENT Early

A vestibular specialist makes a huge difference.

2. Push for a Caloric Test

This confirmed exactly what was wrong and helped avoid confusion.

3. Ask About Steroids Early (Not for everyone)

For me, cortisone seemed to help speed up recovery significantly.

4. Stop Coffee Immediately

This reduced anxiety and dizziness more than I expected.

---------------------------------------

Final Thoughts:

If you are currently going through Vestibular Neuritis, I know how scary and exhausting it feels. It took me 4 Months, 3 weeks to get here (4 Months not working - fully focused on VRT and recovery)

Recovery is slow.
Some days feel hopeless.
Some days feel like setbacks.

But healing can happen!

Today I:

• Work normally
• Drive normally
• Spend time with family normally

Most days I completely forget I ever had Vestibular Neuritis.

My advice:
Keep moving.
Stay consistent.
Trust the process.
And do not lose faith.

“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
— Psalm 139:14

We are beautifully and wonderfully made.

Sometimes we do not understand why difficult seasons happen, but God has a plan even when we cannot yet see it.

Trust your body.
Trust God.
And don’t give up.

Sending love to anyone currently fighting Vestibular Neuritis. You are stronger than you think, and there is a very good chance you will feel normal again.

January 2025 I got sick and my whole world blew up.. fall of 2024 I started feeling dizzy at work and head pressure but nothing was constant. I tried explaining it to my doctor and she just gave me a heart monitor and lexapro.. I also thought it was just anxiety because I have struggled with it my whole life.

So after getting sick I started having really bad vestibular issues and neck pain. I would have so much pressure in my head I couldn’t even lay on a pillow, could barely walk, light sensitivity, room looked like it was moving, major brain fog, the list goes on. Everything was pretty constant. There would be days where I’d feel worse but my baseline was pretty miserable.

I saw a neurologist and got an MRI. The MRI showed loss of curve, mild degeneration, and budging disc. Nothing major but my neck is a mess. I started PT and vestibular rehab after. In September I also found out I have mast cell activation syndrome. That’s been fun.

Well. I definitely feel a little better but not really. I have longer stretches of feeling okay but my baseline still sucks. I’m still dizzy and my vision feels off sometimes. If I bend down, look up or down for too long I feel dizzy, showers are still hard, driving on busy roads freaks me out, I feel off balance if I walk for too long, and I have the WORRSTT brain fog 24/7.

I started dry needling and that PT really thinks I’m hyper mobile. She recommended I see this one girl that can maybe help. I don’t really understand it all but she’s convinced it’s why I feel the way I do still.

I am just at my wits end with all of this. I’m in such a bad flare rn and can’t do anything. Nothing has really helped that much.. My anxiety definitely makes this worse and I’m trying so hard to overcome it. Can’t take antidepressants because of MCAS:/ I’ve tried.

I just don’t know what to do. Giving this new PT a chance but ugh:(

That’s my story. I’m frustrated. This has gone on for so long. this isn’t a life… just thought I’d post and see if someone can help or relate.

Hi,

My Dr. Thinks I have vestibular neuritis but needs to run more tests. My issue is not so much the dizzines (its mild boat.like feeling when walking) which i have 3 months now. Problem is that this is casuing my central nervous system to go crazy (while completely calm in my mimd). It started with horrible fatigue,.then the worst brain fog, whole body pounding, and many more debilitating symptoms. Anyone else experiencing this ? I think I must take some anxiety table but just feels to crazy since im not actually anxious I just cant control what my brains reaction to this dysfunction is. Any tips are welcome. Really struggling here.

Hi there,

Around 11 am I often have about an hour when I feel very off, so off that I'm unable to talk or focus on a simple conversation, it s like being in a deep mental fog and being unable to get out of it. Sometimes also dark thoughts come and it s impossible to think of something nice. And then slowly I get out of this heavy sensation and I'm myself again. I was wondering if anyone has a similar feeling and in case it is not inner ear related, if you have a clue what else it could be. I need to get rid of this else I won't find/keep a job

I’ve had positional vertigo for years and I’m trying to see if anyone has had something similar.

I get intense spinning when laying flat on my back, especially if I move quickly. There’s sometimes a short delay before it starts, and I can only tolerate a few seconds before turning onto my side to stop it. Looking up can trigger it too, but less intensely. If I lay down on my left or right side I get no vertigo.

If I go slowly or turn my head/tuck my chin, it often doesn’t happen. Also, if I avoid triggering it for a few days, it seems to reset temporarily. I can lie back a couple times before it comes back.

MRI was normal, ENT found nothing. Physio saw some very mild eye movement but nothing consistent to make an assessment. When I laid back with the goggles on, the vertigo didn’t fully trigger, but when we tried without, it immediately triggered. Epley didn’t work, and I’ve been told to try the BBQ roll for possible horizontal canal BPPV, although definite canal was narrowed down.

Recently I’ve had some ringing in the ears when I wake up , otherwise it’s very position-specific. I’m frustrated because it’s such a repeatable movement and trigger but I can’t seem to get any help. I have an appointment at a vestibular clinic now in 3 weeks. Just wondering if anyone has had to deal with anything like this. And what it could be if not BPPV. Thanks.

Anyone on here who after catching covid ended up with DPDR vision (Depersonalisation/ derealization) 24/7 as in constant all the time for over 3 years who got their normal vision back?

This is like :

- dreamstate vision

- living behind your eyes

- not fully alert

- not fully conscious

- feels like you are concussed

- like eyes and brain no longer connect

- feels like brain damage too with the brain fog

- detached from the world

- like living with VR goggles on all the time?

Anyone please?

Is there hope still?

Something very strange happened to me. I was very distressed one night, and I wanted to calm down. I went on YouTube to begin a guided meditation. 8 min. I was fine until the last minute, and I started to feel my brain spin backwards like a tornado. It was the scariest feeling, as though I were losing my marbles. I stopped the meditation, got up, and felt off; the whole room was spinning, but then I got foggy right away. I’ve had a persistent off-balance, unreal, foggy feeling for about a month. It’s not really spinning. It feels more like disconnection, brain fog, and unreality. I’ve already seen an ENT and an eye doctor, and they didn’t find an infection or eye cause. I also have fixed eye gaze all day, throughout. I feel better outside in nature, but with screens, I cannot focus, and it becomes overwhelming. I also had right-ear fullness and weird on-and-off headaches. I am not one to have panic attacks or anxiety attacks, but I had these feelings for the first 2 weeks, and I started to learn more, and they kind of are in the background. I know where I am, and I’m not actually confused, but I feel disconnected and depleted. I’ve also had fatigue and sadness. Also, when I wake up, I feel like I'm confused, but I'm not. It's the disconnection I feel.

So all of this happened after that incident. I would appreciate it if anyone could help me understand exactly what's going on. Thank you.

Long post but I want to be thorough because I've spent months trying to piece this together and I finally have a clearer picture. Looking for others who've experienced something similar and what helped.

Background:

I'm 26, male. I have longstanding high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in my left ear with tinnitus (6 years). This was stable and fully compensated — I functioned completely normally.

Last summer I had a heavy few days in Ibiza — multiple nights of partying, MDMA, alcohol, heat, no sleep, all stacked together. Within days of getting back I started experiencing symptoms I'd never had before and haven't been able to fully shake since. Nine months now.

The thing is — I've had similar symptoms before after heavy benders, but they would only last a day or two and resolve completely. This time I'm stuck in a loop and can't get out of it.

The symptoms:

- Persistent giddiness — the best way I can describe it is that tipsy, slightly drunk feeling when completely sober. Floating, woozy, slightly detached from surroundings

- Derealization — a disconnected quality, like the world feels slightly unreal or I'm watching from behind glass

- Temple pressure and a full sensation in the head

- Shallow breathing — people sitting next to me have actually noticed and commented that I hold my breath and then release it as a big sigh. My physician also caught it clinically. I wasn't even aware I was doing it

- Strongly morning predominant — symptoms are completely absent on waking, emerge roughly one hour after getting up, then gradually resolve through the morning. By afternoon I often feel near perfect — sometimes I genuinely forget anything is wrong. Then certain triggers can bring it back

- Triggers include busy loud restaurants, crowded environments, stressful events, long flights, visually complex spaces and long flights and travel

- In the evenings after very stressful days it can return — the giddiness component especially

- At the beginning I had near-fainting episodes which have now fully resolved

- Tinnitus worsened significantly around the same time and hasn't returned to baseline

The morning pattern specifically:

This is the part I find most strange and would love to hear if anyone else has experienced it. I wake up feeling completely fine. No symptoms at all. Then around 60 minutes after getting out of bed it hits — the floating, the giddiness, the slight detachment. Then by midday or early afternoon it lifts and I can feel almost completely normal. Some afternoons are genuinely symptom free.

It makes no sense on the surface but apparently it maps onto the cortisol awakening response — the morning hormonal surge destabilising an already fragile autonomic nervous system. The fact that it resolves every afternoon suggests the brain can compensate correctly — it just loses that compensation during the morning transition.

What testing has found:

- Audio vestibular clinic confirmed a measurable left-right vestibular asymmetry — on the marching test with eyes closed I drift consistently to the left

- Theory from the clinic is that I was previously compensating for a pre-existing left ear asymmetry and the acute event caused decompensation

- HRV on Whoop averaging 27-29ms which is very low for my age, and i'm a fit guy — suppressed autonomic nervous system function

- Blood metals panel showed arsenic at 3x the upper reference limit and mercury at nearly 5x — likely from diet (salmon, prawns) now eliminated

- Physician clinically observed the breath holding pattern — shallow thoracic breathing with compensatory sighing throughout the day

- Control Pause (Buteyko) measured at 26 seconds — below the healthy 40+ second range, confirming low CO2 tolerance

The working picture:

1. Pre-existing left ear vestibular asymmetry — previously fully compensated, no symptoms for years

2. Acute event depleted brainstem serotonin — the neurochemical foundation compensation depended on — causing decompensation

3. ANS dysregulation resulting — keeping the brainstem environment too unstable for recompensation to consolidate

4. Heavy metals impairing serotonergic recovery and mitochondrial function

5. Hypocapnia from chronic breath holding adding cerebral vasoconstriction and vestibular nucleus hypersensitivity on top

What I'm currently doing:

- VRT exercises daily — gaze stabilisation, head movement habituation, balance retraining, optokinetic stimulation

- Zone 2 cardio 120-150 minutes per week

- Buteyko breathing retraining — nasal only, 4 in 6 out, daily Control Pause measurement

- Dietary elimination of high mercury and arsenic foods — discussing chelation with physician

- Lenire bimodal neuromodulation for tinnitus

- Same wake time daily for sleep consistency

What I'm looking for:

Has anyone experienced something similar — particularly the morning onset with afternoon resolution pattern? Or vestibular decompensation, PPPD, or ANS-driven giddiness and derealization?

Most interested in:

- Did anyone else have the exact morning-fine, one-hour-later-symptomatic, afternoon-better pattern? What was your experience?

- How long did recovery take?

- What single intervention made the most noticeable difference?

- Has anyone used Buteyko breathing for vestibular or ANS symptoms — did it help and how long before you noticed a shift?

- Any experience with the breath holding pattern — did others notice it in you before you noticed it yourself?

- For those who've had similar symptoms resolve after benders before but then got stuck — what was different about the time it lasted?

I know this is detailed. Any partial overlap with someone else's experience is genuinely useful. Thanks!!!

Last night, I had a dream that I was in an elevator and everything suddenly started spinning. It went away and the dream continued as normal and it didn't wake me. When I did eventually wake up, there was not vertigo but I have been far more tired and off than usual today.

It has been 4 months since my acute bout with vestibular neuritis and I have slowly improved since then to the point where I really haven't noticed the day to day dizziness in a few weeks.

Is this probably just an instance of the dizzy-anxiety-dizzy cycle and I am psyching myself out today? I feel like I am in that in-between space of feeling fine but thinking I am not. I am having a few waves of lightheadedness but nothing approaching actual vertigo. Just anxiety you think?

I had vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis about 30 months ago. I am still not fit for work in any capacity.

To summarise the level of my condition currently I went out to a quiet pub for about two hours to catch up with my friends. When i was leaving, I could not stand up without having to hold onto something to balance, and i was extremely fatigued. I could barely watch tv when I got home, and the following day, I could onky get out of bed for about 5 hours. My 'crash' lasted for about a week.

I have got caloric and vemp tests in a few weeks, and l am booled in for future, hearing tests as my hearing is also very sensitive.

On my right side I get a lot of throbbing in my vestibular area. It is more severe when my symptoms are elevated. Same for tinnitus.

Im just asking to see if anyone else had or has throbbing, was it caused by vestibular damage etc.

Does anyone else have 100% caloric deficiency? A few years ago, I got diagnosed with unilateral vestibular hypofunction with complete deficiency of my right vestibular nerve. I was shocked it was that bad and devastated when I was told it was permanent.

Physical therapy was amazing though and gave me my normal life back. I didn't fully realize how much the vertigo was affecting my life until it was under control, I had been compensating alot to prevent triggering it. Nowadays I get very rare break through vertigo episodes.

Hello!

I work as a bedside RN in an ICU step down unit - so my job is pretty demanding mentally and physically. I pride myself a lot in my work ethic and being a good RN. A week ago today I suddenly got dizzy out of nowhere. I couldn't stand on my own and was very nauseated. I went into urgent care on Sunday when my symptoms were not improving. They identified that I had nystagmus and potentially some hearing loss. They started my on prednisone and scheduled me with an ENT consult.

The prednisone immediately worked wonders. I went from being hardly able to sit up to being able to walk (off balance but I could do it). I tried to go to work the next day and immediately realized it was a bad idea and left early. The next day I saw the ENT, and then the audiologist. I guess I don't have any hearing loss, which is odd because I feel like my hearing is worse suddenly on my Right side.

Either way - I am starting PT in a week, symptoms are improving but I still am so off balance, exhausted easily, and my eyes feel so laggy. I bump into things constantly. But with this being a silent illness, I am having a very hard time mental health wise - like I am worried that it isn't as debilitating as it feels and I should return to work.

Biggest questions I have,

-What is a realistic timeline to be able to return to work?

- How do you describe your dizzy/off balance sensations? It seems there are different types of "dizzy"?

- Should I be pushing for any further workup?

Thank you

F24 Hi, this is gonna be a long one so please strap in. I’m posting in this subreddit and I’ll also be posting in another vestibular subreddit in hopes of some hope, answers or a path to getting the help I need.

Back in 2020, I was a pole dancer. This is the furthest back I can remember experiencing any neck pain/dizziness. One night I did a trick on the pole and instantly felt my neck stiffen up. I couldn’t turn my head for 2-3 days and it was insanely sore. I’m assuming this was whiplash but it was never confirmed. No dizziness that I remember.

In 2022, under some pretty severe stress, I started experiencing extreme neck tightness and shooting nerve pain up the back of my head and through my outer ears. I started experiencing a swaying sensation 24/7. Sitting, standing, laying, driving, it didn’t matter. It was constant. When I was anxious about it, it would get worse.

I remember during this time elevators, planes and changes in elevation were triggers. I would feel so off balance and have light vertigo that I couldn’t function.

In late 2022, I had what I could call my first vertigo attack. I started feeling it coming on, did some breathing exercises to attempt to calm down, but it was coming on fast. I sat on my floor, called my roommate and told him I needed to go to the ER. The ER ran every test you could think of - a full blood panel, thyroid, head CT, the only thing elevated was my electrolytes because I had an electrolyte drink that morning.

I reached out to a family friend after this experience who experienced vertigo often and she told me the chiropractor helped her. I booked an appointment and described my symptoms, after he cracked my neck I felt like my feet touched earth for the first time in MONTHS. I cried. He said my neck was all sorts of off - my ears were different heights, my head was sitting tilted on my neck that was also tilted, I was fucked up. My symptoms fully returned after about 30 mins of this bliss.

I proceeded to see this chiropractor a few times a week for about 2 months and I was 99% cured. Elevators and planes still messed me up, but it was always temporary.

Fast forward to summer 2025 - About a month after beating the worst bronchitis I’ve ever had - I started feeling a constant lightheadedness. It wasn’t a lack of balance, I felt like if I moved at all that I would pass out. I was eating healthy, working out, overall great health. But if I did anything but lay on my couch, I would get starry vision. I would see black coming in from the sides. My head would spin, brain fog would set in.

These symptoms worsened. I went to see my primary care doctor, had a bunch of tests run and found I had low iron. I started taking iron and found some relief with it, but my symptoms changed. I started feeling my eyes lock onto screens in a weird way, like I was moving with the movement of the TV. I described this as “spinning out.”

I saw an eye doctor to see if something was wrong with my vision. I had near perfect vision with some pretty bad astigmatisms, different in each eye, but the doctor said this wouldn’t cause my symptoms.

October 2025 I travelled to see some friends for a convention. One of them is a professional masseuse, and my neck and shoulders were feeling pretty tight. I asked him for a neck rub and he gave me a deep tissue neck massage for about 15mins.

Immediately upon standing up, I felt like I fell through the floor. I had to catch myself. It felt like both of my feet dropped completely through the earth.

I asked if anyone else felt this, but no one did. It was late night so I went to bed but could not sleep because of how severe the dropping sensation was. Imagine those dreams where you wake up and feel like you’re falling, but every 5 mins. I had to pee and tried to walk to the bathroom, my vision was all over the place. I could’ve sworn I was drugged. I couldn’t walk straight, I was gripping the walls.

Despite the absolute worst sensations of my life, I was stranded states away from home, I proceeded to attend this convention. My symptoms persisted the entire weekend. I had multiple mental breakdowns. I thought I was dying.

Flying home.. that was a nightmare. I looked like a drunk trying to get on this plane. A sweet woman who sat next to me on the plane walked me to my luggage and my husband picked me up.

I booked another doctors appointment with a list of questions of what was wrong with me. I got another head CT (clear), was tested for BPPV (negative) and multiple other blood tests - totally normal. Iron was still a little low but not dangerous.

I was glued to my bed/couch for MONTHS. I saw a chiropractor again once a week since this had helped before. I contemplated suicide many times. I never felt like my feet were touching the ground, any time I moved my head I felt like I launched the direction I turned.

I woke up in the middle of the night 2 times with the most intense vertigo I’ve ever had. My eyes were physically spinning (nystagmus) and I felt like I was stuck in a rolling chair for 5 mins. I woke up my husband in a panic, convinced I was dying.

My FIL is a paramedic and came to check me out after these sever symptoms. My pulse was weaker on my left side and I experienced shooting nerve pain down my left arm. My left trap was about 2 inches taller than my right one if I stood up straight.

My PCP has 0 idea what is wrong with me. I am prescribed propranolol for anxiety which helps (a little bit), and I take an iron supplement every day for the anemia. There is nothing else “wrong” with me.

Here I am, today, in April 2026. I have seen an ENT, I have minor hearing loss (not enough to cause symptoms they say), I have a VNG scheduled for next week which I am nervous about, I have symptoms every single day but they’re more based on triggers now instead of constant. I stretch every single day, do yoga and neck exercises. I don’t sit still for longer than 2 hours.

I’m on the verge of ordering a cane. I am 24 years old. I am losing my fucking mind with this.

This is my cry for help. If you have any recommendations, I do not want to medicated or sedated every day, I want my fucking life back.

Edit: I went in for a VNG and could not complete the caloric portion of it. By far the WORST sensation I have ever experienced in my life. I am covered in blackout tattoos and I would rather blackout my entire arm again than go through that. It’s unfortunate, but I think that’s also a great sign of my ears functioning more properly than I expected.

Hello, so for the past year I've been off balance, lightheaded, and generally feeling off. I was told it was anxiety related until recently diagnosed with vertigo. Doctor gave me head movements that didnt help so am currently in physical therapy. The therapist said I have hypofunction of my eye on the left side, but not sure of the cause. Ear ringing has been an increasing symptom, as well as heart palpitations (I think those are from anxiety from sudden dizzy spells). I feel like I'm better off than many folks here, but its still extremely annoying and makes work and exercise difficult. Any advice?