Brady Workman

Vestibular schwannoma, also known as acoustic neuroma, refers to a benign tumor that arises from the Schwann cells or nerve sheath on the vestibulocochlear nerve. For consistency and brevity, I will refer to these tumors as VS for the remainder of this blog. Other masses can occur within the internal auditory canal, however, VS are the most prevalent and for

Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) is a French term that is utilized to describe a chronic vestibular disorder where individuals feel as if they are almost constantly rocking or swaying.  Additional symptoms can include fatigue, spatial disorientation, visual motion intolerance, headache, and anxiety. The name, when translated to English, means “sickness on dis-embarkment”. The condition is often triggered by traveling

What is Meniere’s Disease? Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear, which causes episodes of vertigo, imbalance, fluctuating hearing loss, pressure in the ear, and tinnitus (noises) in ones ear. An episode of Meniere’s disease can last for minutes, up to many hours in duration. Meniere’s disease most often affects only one ear and often individuals will perceive

I recently read an article from the New York Times about individuals experiencing persistent dizziness symptoms after an earthquake. This is not something I have encountered at a clinical level, but I found it interesting. It seems unlikely that an earthquake would directly cause an organic issue with vestibular system without any physical trauma involved. It would, however, seem plausible

Falls are the leading cause of injury related death in adults 65 or older. In the United States, around $50 billion is spent annually on medical care related to falls in older adults. Data from the World Health Organization estimates that more than 680,000 people die and 172 million suffer from falls related disabilities annually worldwide. Hearing loss is also

Vestibular disorders are amongst the most common causes for dizziness accounting for around 40% of all dizziness. In recent years it has become apparent that vestibular migraine is one of the most common vestibular disorders and may even be the most common cause of recurrent episodic spontaneous vertigo. There is not a diagnostic test for vestibular migraine and the diagnosis

Last month’s post focused on atypical causes of positional vertigo. This month’s post will be a change of pace and will consist of some general tips and tricks that we have found helpful in treating patients with BPPV. Some of the items covered may seem rudimentary to experienced practitioners but hopefully it will be informative to others. Correct positioning during

The majority of cases of positional vertigo are attributed to the condition of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV occurs when otoconia migrate into the semicircular canals of the inner ear, resulting in nystagmus and a sense of vertigo that occurs with head movement or position change. Most cases of BPPV impact the posterior semicircular and are readily treated with

There have been symptom reports consistent with Meniere’s disease for many years yet it still remains poorly understood. There is some suspicion that historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, and even Vincent Van Gogh may have had the condition.4 The condition was first theorized to be an inner ear condition by French physician Dr. Prosper Meniere in 1861.3

As audiologists providing both vestibular and hearing assessment, we evaluate individuals with a variety of hearing and/or dizziness related symptoms. We frequently encounter the same common diagnoses. For instance, a symmetric high frequency sensorineural (inner ear/auditory nerve) hearing loss is commonly encountered in a hearing evaluation and may be observed in older adult patients and/or those who have been exposed