What is Vestibular Neuritis and How To Treat It?

December 2, 2021
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Vestibular Neuritis

Your vestibular nerve is located in your inner ear and is responsible for sending information about head position and balance to your brain.

When this nerve becomes inflamed or injured it disrupts this information from being interpreted by your brain causing you to experience symptoms of vertigo and dizziness. This condition is called Vestibular Neuritis.

Vestibular Neuritis Vs Labyrinthitis

Many think that labyrinthitis is the same as vestibular neuritis however there is one key difference.

As mentioned above, vestibular neuritis occurs when the vestibular nerve is inflamed, causing symptoms of vertigo and dizziness. Labyrinthitis is when both the vestibular nerve and cochlear nerve become inflamed. Your Cochlear nerve sends information to your brain about what you hear.

This means that labyrinthitis not only causes vertigo but also hearing problems and tinnitus (ringing in your ears). Vestibular neuritis only causes the vertigo symptoms. This is a key distinguishing feature between the two conditions.

What Are All The Symptoms of Vestibular Neuritis?

These include:

Vertigo
Dizziness
Balance problems
Difficulty concentrating
Vomiting and Nausea

Check out this post from Pillars of Wellness to learn more about Vertigo and Vestibular Balance Disorder (Read the caption)

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What Causes It?

Most of the time vestibular neuritis is caused by a viral infection inside your inner ear or another part of your body.

Viral infections that can causes this condition are:

Chicken pox
Flu
Mumps
Measles
Shingles
Rubella
Mononucleosis

Also bacterial infections can be a contributor.

What's The Best Way To Treat Vestibular Neuritis?

If it’s caused by an infection then your doctor will most likely give you antiviral medication or antibiotics. If your symptoms aren’t getting better within a few weeks then you’ll need Vestibular Rehabilitation therapy which Physiotherapists do. This is a special type of therapy designed to reduce symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, balance issues, and visual disturbance.

How does Physiotherapy help?

Vestibular Neuritis causes disorienting signals to your brain about head position and balance. Physiotherapy exercises can help your brain cope with this by relying on alternative signals coming from other systems of your body. This will help you to maintain balance and to efficiently integrate head position during various movements.

Over time Vestibular rehab allows the patient’s symptoms to return to normal function.

Effective treatments of BPPV, courtesy of Aquatic Centre Physiotherapy

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Is Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy Right For You?

During the initial appointment, your physiotherapist will complete a detailed assessment of your symptoms. They do this by taking you through a series of tests such as:

Walking stability tasks. This may include the integration of eye movements and neck movements while walking.
Oculomotor function (how well your vision interprets your body’s position in the environment)
Inner ear positional testing (how well your inner ear functions as it relates to vertigo)
Balance while standing. Your physiotherapist may also have you complete additional eye and neck movements while standing in an unstable position.

Based on the results they will let you know if Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy would be a good fit for you or not.

If so, they will then create a customized treatment plan to improve any deficits that were found in your assessment.

This will help improve your vestibular neuritis symptoms and improve your function in activities of daily living.

So if you’d like to schedule a free consultation with a vestibular Physiotherapist near you just use the box on this page to book today.

Book Your BACK NECK SHOULDER KNEE ELBOW HIP WRIST FOOT Pain Consult

This appointment is your opportunity to tell us what hurts and discover whether physiotherapy or chiropractic care is a good fit for you! During this session, you will talk with a physiotherapist or chiropractor on a phone call (or online) and create the right care plan specifically for your pain. There is no obligation on this session is to find out whether physiotherapy or chiropractic care can help you getting back to doing the things you love in life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Vestibular Neuritis recur?

For 95% of people vestibular neuritis doesn’t happen again.

How long does vestibular neuritis last?

For most symptoms subside after a few days. For others it’s can take a few weeks to get better

How do you know if your vestibular nerve is damaged?

Key indicators include vertigo, dizziness, balance issues, and nausea.

Medical Disclaimer:

The information presented in this blog post is for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, treatment or a diagnosis, consult with a medical professional such as one suggested on this website. The Clinic Accelerator Inc. and the author of this page are not liable for the associated risks of using or acting upon the information contained in this article.

What is Vestibular Neuritis and How To Treat It?