Hi all,
I wonder how other people who suffer from these inner ear disorders symptoms cope with driving.
For me, not being able to drive is the worse. How do you handle it? At what stage did you decide to drive no matter what?
(My diagnosis was sensorineural hearing loss).
Thanks
Anaty

Anaty..

For many...driving takes weeks or months. I got back to driving when I still was feeling tentative about my driving skills. I felt fine driving at 6 weeks...however, that doesn't mean I still did not have blips. Driving is now where I feel my best actually. However, for many the visual problems we face with inner ear conditions make fast traffic or visual stimuli extremely hard to handle.

The more you expose yourself to these things...the more your body will compensate...

Hi Driving for me is ok most days now (13 months on) still know when I can drive and when I can't, although sitting in one position for me is when I'm at my best and as I can't move far in the drivers seat that probably helps.
Night time driving is not good with the oncoming lights from cars, but short trips I manage ok.
To start with, the more I made myself drive the better it got, as Charlotte said it's the same with everything the more you do it the more the compensation.
Hope this help.
Jayne

I've had my inner ear problme for a little over a year now. I can't drive anywhere if its over a 10 minute drive. Driving at night is nearly impossible for me. But i need to start trying to drive more, because i think i gave up on it too quickly.

Hi,
It's hard for me to remember now exactly when I was able to resume driving (My VN symptoms almost 2 yrs ago), but I do remember reading a post somewhere on this board that suggested that you get started by getting behind the wheel and just driving around the block. So I did. I was scared, but I did, and I discovered I could do it! The next was to drive (with someone with me, just in case) to the store.... and I did it! At that point I couldn't handle the inside of the store, but at least I could get there! ;) Though I still deal with symptoms (some days are just horrible, even still), I don't think twice about getting into the car to drive anywhere. The only issues I now have to deal with are tunnels and bridges/overpasses - those are really hard for me, to the point of sometimes pushing me towards a full-on anxiety attack. Anytime my horizonal reference point is taken away (which is exactly what happens when I'm in a tunnel or on an overpass), I freak out. But it's part of the process, and I start breathing deeply, talking my way through it till I'm off the bridge or out of the tunnel.)

Start with little steps... just down the street and back, if necessary. Sometimes just getting your feet wet is enough to show you that you'll be able to jump in and swim!

Take care!

Hi,

I was hit with labs/VN over 3 years ago. It took me 9 months (and treatment with an SSRI) before I could drive again without feeling ill afterwards. I started with small trips and stayed out of heavy traffich which, for some reason, made panic a greater possibilty. In the end driving had no effect and all was, and still is, fine.

If; however, I get hit with a cold, driving can be torturous again for 3-4 days following the infection. The temporary decompensation brings the driving difficulties back as they were years ago. In this case, I drive a little and then stop for the day if it feels like it's all too much. With perseverence, things normalise again.

Don't think you m ight never be able to drive again (as I did). You definitely will.

Best....Scott :cool:

Thank you for the replies.
I insisted on driving in the beginning, before I actually understood the situation. Managed to almost crush before I decided I am not doing it for a while (4 months now).
It used to be that I will be semi fine but taking a turn will through me… felt like I was dreaming, does it make sense? Also the noise of heavy traffic is wired for me.
I need to drive an hour to work in heavy traffic with lots of traffic lights. That really freaks me out.
Oh well,
Thank you. This forum has been a source of comfort for :angel: me as well as informative.
Anaty

Anaty...that makes lots of sense. When we turn or deal with moving objects, lights...our vision is challenged. Normally, we do not feel that action...it happens automatically. However, if we have a virus or swelling in the ear...or if the virus hurts the nerve in the ear..that action needs to be compensated on by the brain. This compensation causes brain fog (brain is working hard to compensate..so thus foggy), and can cause static vision...and other symptoms.

However, the more we keep up with challenging the brain..the more we will teach it to rewire itself. We are all working so that we are back to 100% when this is all done. VRT is key to improvement.