Tackling Dizziness and Imbalance Issues

Many people struggle with feeling dizzy and off-balance. Most of the time, these issues arise due to imbalances in the vestibular system, which lives in your inner ear. At Brain Harmony, we use exercise plans and multisensory inputs like sound frequency and bone conduction to bring your vestibular system back online and steady your nerves and motor systems. The result is less dizziness, better motor function, and a host of other benefits for neurological activity. 

Feeling off-balance or dizzy can be incredibly disorienting and uncomfortable. Of course, it's common to feel a little dizzy when getting off a rollercoaster or an amusement park ride, but when you're feeling dizzy from riding in a car or regular vehicle, it's likely due to imbalances in your vestibular system. This off-balance feeling can range from mild to severe, and for some people, dizziness can interrupt daily life and become seriously debilitating. 

In this article, we'll discuss what your vestibular system is, how its dysfunction can impact dizziness, and what you can do to get your vestibular system back into balance. 

What Is The Vestibular System?

The vestibular system is a sensory system that's located primarily in your inner ear and provides your brain with information about where you are in space (spatial orientation), motion, and head position.

The vestibular system allows you to find balance, stabilize your head and body, and maintain good posture through a dynamic structure of inner ear fluid, tiny hairs, tubes, and canals within your ear. This system is a crucial aspect of your central nervous system and is essential for movement and coordination, working with your reflexes, and motor skills. 

 As a foundational aspect of your central nervous system, your vestibular system's function is vital for higher learning, such as speech and academic achievement. It's connected to your visual and auditory systems, which makes its integration crucial for sensory processing. 

 When this system is damaged or dysfunctional, it can result in issues like clinginess, hyperactivity and disruption of everyday activities. Due to its role in balance and coordination, when this system is off-balance, you also feel off-balance. This shows up as dizziness when your central nervous system can't process balance and spatial information from your vestibular system (organs in your inner ear)[*]. 

 Although you likely don't hear many people talking about vestibular imbalance, it's actually quite common. In fact, in the United States, it's estimated that as many as 35% of adults have experienced some form of vestibular dysfunction. Furthermore, many children present with signs of vestibular imbalance showing up as dizziness coupled with learning disorders or motor development issues[*]. 

How Brain Harmony Can Help With Dizziness

One of the foundational aspects of the 5-step plan of care at Brain Harmony is vestibular organization. We understand that for your brain to organize and develop optimally, your vestibular system must be online, active, and in balance. When the vestibular system is weak, your central nervous system won't be able to do its job, and all the processing that must happen for you to feel steady and balanced will struggle. 

To fight dizziness, we start at the root of imbalances and work our way up from there. Some people come to us with a primary concern of dizziness. However, the majority of our clients find that their dizziness is naturally resolved from the work they do with our five-step plan of care, as they bring more balance to their vestibular system, a happy side effect of whatever their primary concern was/is.

Our unique formula for fighting dizziness relies heavily on parasympathetic tone and neurological organization coupled with reflex integration and therapeutic activities. 

We begin by working on your vagus nerve, which is responsible for your nervous system's "rest and digest" activity -- the parasympathetic branch. In order to make any changes downstream, your nervous system must be in a relaxed state. When you feel safe and calm, your brain is more open to accepting new input and shifting to more optimal ways of functioning. During this phase, we use tools like the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) to enhance vagal tone and increase your sense of calm. 

We then move on to neurological organization and vestibular engagement with manual protocols and tools that use a combination of sound frequencies along with bone conduction to directly support those organs in your inner ear. In this stage, we start to make direct changes that can impact your sense of balance and steadiness while optimizing neurological activity to support processes like learning and emotional balance. We have developed a manual lesson plan from over 25 years in clinical practice which includes gradual increase in complexity of exercises to build the strength of the vestibular apparatus. Tools such as the iLs Focus Unit come in handy here as well due to the multiple sensory input they provide, allowing your nervous system to come back into balance. 

iLs Listening System

To bring further balance and organization to your vestibular system, we then layer in therapeutic activities meant to activate your motor skills and sense of balance and coordination. These activities, guided by our trained Occupational Therapists (OT), add extra value as you begin to work not only from a neurological standpoint but also from a functional angle. 

In addition to the therapeutic activities, your OT will also introduce a customized reflex integration plan when appropriate. Reflexes and movement can play a significant role in your vestibular system's function, so this step really hones in on ways for you to optimize movement patterns that will strengthen your vestibular activity.

While you may find different ways to manage dizziness, getting to the root of the imbalance is truly the only way to create lasting change. At Brain Harmony, we don't believe in band-aids; we want to make changes that will stick. This is why we use a unique combination of tools and resources for each one of our clients, producing unique and targeted results. 

This Week’s “Favorites” Recommendation

We are regularly asked for support items that supplement our Brain Harmony protocols, so we are constantly adding to our Favorites Page. We feature items such as RAD Furniture, the climbing of which helps with dynamic vestibular engagement and balance for your child.

RAD Furniture

Brain Harmony Success Stories

Gray's Car Sickness Success Story

Gray's vestibular system was so weak from a concussion that he had suffered from that he would get car sick on his way to school, and it would affect his ability to function in class for several hours each day. He wasn't just struggling with academics; he also had sleep difficulties, anxiety, and sensory processing issues.

When his mother brought him to Brain Harmony, his trained therapist identified the weak vestibular system and immediately got him started on the 5-Step Plan of Care to Achieve Neurological C.A.L.M.

After starting with Brain Harmony, the car sickness that was causing so much disruption to Gray's life has now subsided, and his anxiety is a thing of the past. 

We also found that one of Gray’s parents had a very weak vestibular system so we walked him through the manual lessons with support from the Ils Focus unit, so that he could also achieve the quality of life he was looking for. Since we treat up to 4 family members at a time, while originally the child was the reason the family reached out for services, Dad was able to benefit from the home program as well! That's what we call Family Brain Harmony, which is unique to our services and isn’t available in a purely clinical environment. 

Susan's Balance Success Story

Susan was 60-years-old when she sustained a brain stem injury in a car accident. After the accident, she was unable to tolerate noisy or crowded environments. She also had trouble with her balance and coordination. 

"Thank you, Brain Harmony! I feel like myself. I am now able to attend church, go to restaurants, and attend meetings since my accident. My balance has improved tremendously, and I am now taking Zumba classes!" - Susan

If you or a family member struggles with dizziness, Brain Harmony can help by getting your vestibular system back in balance and reorganizing your nervous system for optimal performance. Call today for a free consultation to learn more about our unique program.