I’ve often complained that I constantly feel like I’m falling or dropping when sitting still. It’s a terrible feeling, and it really drives me nuts. For me, the feeling comes and goes — it’s worse when I’m tired or hungry.
A case like Cheryl’s would normally be completely hopeless. But due to a specially-fitted construction hat that’s connected to her tongue (yes, you read that right, her tongue), she’s able to actually regain her sense of balance while wearing the hat.
I went to a physiotherapy clinic for an assessment with a physiotherapist that specializes in vestibular rehabilitation therapy, and I got some extremely good news. She thinks she can have my functioning almost back to normal in about 6 weeks!
The physiotherapist videotaped my eyes using some goggles (they resemble scuba goggles, and this is the third time I’ve had to wear them for this particular type of test). They’re very tight-fitting and a bit uncomfortable, and they make things very dark.
Apparently there are infrared cameras inside the goggles that record your eye movements; so after the physiotherapist shook my head back and forth with her hands, I had to look up and to the left, and then up and to the right.
Lately I’ve had a strange sensation in my right ear — it’s like it’s throbbing irregularly (kind of the like the feeling when you’re heart is beating really fast after a vigorous workout).
I’ve never had this sensation before, but it seems to show up mostly in the morning and before I go to bed. I’ve started using in-ear headphones more often lately, and I’m wondering if it has something to do with that.
My overall balance seems to have improved a bit though, right about the time the ear throbbing started. Could this be some kind of sign that something is going on in my ear? That the throbbing has somehow improved my balance?
I’m just wondering if anyone else has felt this kind of throbbing in their ear before. It’s a very unique sensation, and if you’ve had it, I’m sure you’ll know what I mean.
It’s been a beautiful weekend here, and I’ve been enjoying doing lots of things outdoors. I try to spend as much time as possible outside when the weather’s nice, and I’m kind of an outside person by nature.
Most of my time was spent at the beach this weekend, which is certainly one of my favourite places to be. Yet it actually made me notice something about my balance that has really never occurred to me before…
When lying on my stomach and with my head at a 45 degree angle, I often get ‘drop attacks’ or feelings of sudden imbalance. The same goes for when my head is tilted at a 45 degree angle the other way.
I took the long weekend off, which was nice, but today I’m having a particularly tough time with a particular sensation that I get (too often, unfortunately).
I’ve alternately heard them called “drop attacks”, “the startles”, “brain spasms” or a host of other names that I can’t really explain that well. It basically feels like the floor’s being pulled out from under you, and that you’re suddenly falling — and that you need to quickly regain your balance.
There’s occasionally the times where it manifests itself as a bit of a weird spacey feeling, which I had never gotten before the vestibular neuritis. The feeling is quite distracting, and it’s often difficult to concentrate (and it’s usually worse when I don’t get enough sleep or enough to eat).
Has anyone else experienced a similar sensation? I sometimes wonder if it’s psychological or physiological — is this my body actually experiencing something, or is my brain just suddenly freaked out about the potential dizziness it think it feels?
