Vestibular disorders can cause great disability, including vertigo, dizziness and balance issues.
True vertigo is described as “the world spinning”. This can cause secondary or associated problems, such as sweating, nausea, vomiting or increased heart rate.
Dizziness is a sensation, or being off balance in the head. People can feel “lightheaded” or “woozy”.
People who have vestibular issues can also have balance problems. This is because the vestibular apparatus is one of the systems that help you with your balance. If the vestibular system is not functioning as it normally should, problems with your balance can occur.
What is vestibular migraine?
There are some ideas about the causes, but we don’t know all of them. What we do know though, are that:
- Vestibular migraine can run in the family
- Sufferers may be more prone to suffering from vestibular migraines if they had motion sickness as a child
What is the cause?
We often find that people who suffer from vestibular disorders or vestibular migraines also have a sensitive brainstem. In our previous blog, we talked about the brainstem housing a lot of neurons and cranial nerve nuclei. When the cranial nerves become sensitive, pain can be reproduced which often cause head pain. Additional symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, being sensitive to light, sound or smell, aura symptoms, dizziness can occur as a result as well.
If you are a sufferer or know someone who suffers from vestibular migraines, contact our headache clinicians for a careful assessment and early diagnosis of your condition.
Imagine a life free from headaches and migraines.
