Vestibular Migraines: What They Feel Like and What Helps
Vestibular migraines cause dizziness, vertigo, balance problems, or a heavy, swaying feeling. Sometimes you get a headache, sometimes you don’t. Attacks can last seconds, minutes, or days. If motion or visual motion makes you sick and you have a personal or family history of migraine, this is a likely cause.
Common symptoms and how to spot them
Symptoms include spinning (true vertigo), unsteadiness, lightheadedness, motion sensitivity, and nausea. Symptoms often come with sound or light sensitivity, and some people notice visual changes like moving patterns. Unlike a classic inner-ear attack, vestibular migraines often fluctuate and link to typical migraine triggers.
Keep a simple diary: note when the attack started, how long it lasted, what you were doing, what you ate, sleep and stress levels. A short log gives your doctor big clues and speeds up diagnosis.
How doctors evaluate vestibular migraine
A clinician will ask about symptoms and family history and check your balance and eye movements. Tests like hearing exams or an MRI may be done to rule out inner-ear or brain causes. There’s no single test for vestibular migraine—diagnosis is based on patterns of symptoms and excluding other problems.
Treatment has two aims: stop attacks when they happen, and prevent them from coming back. For sudden symptoms, doctors might use anti-nausea drugs or short-term migraine meds. For prevention, common options include beta-blockers, some antidepressants, topiramate, or calcium-channel blockers. Your doctor picks drugs based on your health, other meds, and side effects.
Vestibular rehabilitation helps a lot. That’s a short-term program with simple balance and eye exercises taught by a trained therapist. Exercises like gaze stabilization and slow head turns reduce motion sensitivity and speed recovery. Most people notice steady improvement over weeks.
Practical self-help works too. Regular sleep, steady hydration, limiting caffeine and alcohol, and managing stress cut attacks. Watch common triggers: bright or flickering lights, strong smells, skipped meals, and certain foods (aged cheese, processed meats, MSG). Small changes—consistent bedtime, plain meals before travel, sunglasses in crowds—often make a big difference.
Know when to get immediate care: sudden severe vertigo with weakness, slurred speech, double vision, or a new loss of feeling needs urgent attention. Also talk to a doctor if attacks get more frequent or meds stop working.
If you suspect vestibular migraine, start with a diary and your primary care doctor. Ask about vestibular rehab and a clear plan for acute and preventive treatment. With the right mix of lifestyle steps, therapy, and medication, most people get fewer attacks and better balance.
