Vestibular rehabilitation at Parkside Hospital

What is vestibular rehabilitation?

Damage to the ear can have a significant impact on your balance and movement. When the brain can no longer rely on the organs for accurate information, this can lead to dizziness, vertigo, balance problems and other symptoms.

The goal of vestibular rehabilitation is to retrain the brain, and it can treat the following symptoms:

• A spinning or whirling sensation
• A lightheaded, floating, or rocking sensation
• Stumbling, or difficulty walking in a straight line or turning a corner
• Difficulty in maintaining straight posture
• Holding your head in a tilted position
• Difficulty finding stability in crowds or in large open spaces
• Trouble focusing or tracking objects with the eyes
• Discomfort caused by busy visual environments
• Difficulty walking in the dark
• An increase in the symptoms of vertigo, dizziness, or imbalance
• Nausea or vomiting

What happens during vestibular rehabilitation?

You’ll have an hour-long initial assessment with one of our Physiotherapists, which may include some eye-head coordination tests.

Using the assessment results, we’ll develop a personal treatment plan that includes specific head, body, and eye exercises. These can be performed both during your therapy sessions at Parkside Hospital and then independently at home.

Who could benefit from vestibular rehabilitation?

Conditions that are known to respond well to vestibular rehabilitation include:

• Vestibular Neuritis/ Labyrinthitis
• Ménière’s Disease
• Acoustic Neuroma (following surgery)
• Benign Paroxismal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)