Vestibular disorders: how vestibular therapists can help physicians

I recently came across a presentation by a doctor that specializes in inner ear/dizziness disorders that caught my attention. The doctor’s talk was called: Three Dirty Words: Doctor I’m Dizzy!

Vestibular disorders are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. In fact, many patients visit multiple healthcare providers for a period of several months or even years before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

Employing customized vestibular rehabilitation

People who experience dizziness often have to become their own healthcare advocate in order to navigate a complex medical system so that they can get the help and care they need. 

As a treatment for dizziness, customized vestibular rehabilitation shows > 85% efficacy in reducing symptoms and dysfunctions from inner ear (peripheral vestibular) disorders, which are among the most common causes of dizziness, yet it is rarely used.

Instead, medications are prescribed as high as 89% of the time but result in < 50% improvement.  Furthermore, the average time between an initial visit to the doctor for a dizziness-related problem and receiving a vestibular disorder diagnosis is only one month when the physician initially considers that the inner ear might be the culprit, versus eight months when it’s not considered.

Why vestibular disorders are so hard to pin down 

Vestibular disorders are complex and challenging. Dizziness is a perplexing symptom as the specific cause is often multifactorial or elusive.

Many general healthcare professionals humbly admit to finding it more difficult to assess and treat a patient with dizziness and balance concerns. They add that clinical time constraints make it more difficult to assist dizzy patients due to there being so many possible contributing factors to sift through.

Treating individuals with dizziness and balance disorders can be challenging even for healthcare professionals who specialize in this field. It may be helpful to ask prospective clinics and practitioners about their vestibular training, experience, use of specific technology (like infrared goggles) and adherence to best practices to help with the decision of who to seek care from.

Lifemark vestibular therapists help patients by taking the time to do a thorough assessment, including full medical history and the use of infrared goggles to evaluate eye movements that aren’t visible in normal room light.

If appropriate, the vestibular therapist can then initiate safe, effective and evidence-based treatment. If needed, they can solicit additional practitioners to help build a full care team around the patient.  

Vestibular therapists are passionate about the “detective work” involved in trying to figure out where a person’s dizziness is coming from and using our vestibular rehabilitation and balance training skills to help.

To schedule an appointment with a Lifemark vestibular therapist, check out our Locations page to find a Lifemark clinic near you or book online.