Vestibular Therapy VRT "Say bye-bye to Vertigo"

Yesterday, I went to my third physical therapy session for vertigo caused by my tinnitus and hyperacusis.
Our main objective is to retrain my brain to balance my head and body movements with different sensory signals. For me, it's the ears but others might need to work on visual sensories or even touch sensories in the feet.

Talk to your doctor if you have problems with vertigo, dizziness, or even balance issues.

Ask your doctor about vestibular rehabilitation therapy VRT.
As the tasks get harder we will be adding sounds to my therapy. This is because my vertigo is set off by both tinnitus spikes and hyperacusis (sensitivity to everyday sounds) with specific sounds.

Here's What We Know:

• We now know that my equilibrium is off on the left-side since my ear surgery in 2013. 
• Up until that point, the chronic fluid buildup actually was keeping me balanced. But for some reason since the surgeries, something occurred that has caused a major issue in the ears.

Treatment for Vertigo related to Tinnitus and Hyperacusis:

Knowing this.. we tossed out foot sensors and visual sensors and focus on the ears. 

• This is done by stepping on a piece of foam. We do several exercises with the eyes closed while using different foot positions while continuing to check my right-side and focus on my left-side for balance.
• We also do walking therapy a bit different than what I do for t and h itself. Regular walking therapy is for those who cannot do TRT Training.
• The focus here is on walking a straight line but with different head movements.

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It's harder than it sounds. Embarrassing, but we have a lot of laughs and it helps to have a great team there to catch you in case you start to fall. The more you do the exercises the brain learns to compensate for the imbalance.. thus hopefully reducing vertigo and getting rid of it.


NOTE

The exercises do cause flare ups. One might experience the feeling of swaying like you're on a boat, vertigo itself, lightheadedness, or even nausea. But in a safe environment, you're not at risk for falls. These symptoms can vary depending on how bad you have vertigo and what causes it.
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Think of it like learning to walk. You didn't just get up and start walking. You had to try doing it repeatedly. 

As a child you learned to balance by positioning your body, use hand-eye coordination, and process all that information going to your brain, which came from THREE different places EYES, EARS, and FEET.

It's great to add this wonderful group of people to my managed care team for tinnitus and hyperacusis issues. Just remember you can get vertigo from other things as well. So, if you have a problem with vertigo help is out there. Pick up the phone today! I did...