howlong does it take the brain to compensate for one vestibular system after a head injury, its gotten alot better, but i still dont have a steady fixed picture when i walk , its like a shaky camera! its been 10 months, i dont know how much more i can take

hi! so sorry to hear you are dealing with this. i didn't have a head injury, but i've had this "junk" for 4 months now. what i have is the constant 24/7 shaky, jumpy vision---and not just when i walk. do you have it only then?? that type of vision is called "oscillopsia". i'm not sure if they talk about it in the sticky threads, but its worth checkin out. have you had mri and allthat jazz? are you doing any type of VRT's? Subs is a wonderful member on here who also dealt with some vision issues (among quite a few of us) and has a wealth of info on how he dealt with it. he got over it around 13-14 months with lots of walking and plenty of vrt's. check out some of his old threads---good stuff! dunno if it will help with compensating after a brain injury--i would consult with a specialist...but it's worth a shot!!! good luck to you!!:angel:

howlong does it take the brain to compensate for one vestibular system after a head injury, its gotten alot better, but i still dont have a steady fixed picture when i walk , its like a shaky camera! its been 10 months, i dont know how much more i can take

Sorry you're going through this. I'm 19 months into my recovery from vesitbular neuritis. What is your diagnosis? Are you going through rehab for it? Gaze stability exercises can help to get that steady picture back when you walk. Also doing head turns while focussing on targets is good for that too. Everyone recovers at different paces, but there are many things to help speed it up.
Joni

The "shaky camera vision" - oscillopsia - is more often associated with bilateral vestibular dysfunction than unilateral vestibular dysfunction.

Have you had an ENG or rotary chair test to determine if there is peripheral damage, where it is and how "bad" it is?

I had oscillopsia for the first few months of my vestibular neuritis. Now it is all gone. I still have some tracking issues, but no more bouncing vision.

Adam can I ask how you know so much about these inner ear issues? You sound very informational. Thanks!

Kmac, can I ask what your doctors have said? How did this happen?

All the best!

[QUOTE=admw;3244443]The "shaky camera vision" - oscillopsia - is more often associated with bilateral vestibular dysfunction than unilateral vestibular dysfunction.
QUOTE]

This is true, but people with unilateral dysfunction can have it as well. I have had it all along.

howlong does it take the brain to compensate for one vestibular system after a head injury, its gotten alot better, but i still dont have a steady fixed picture when i walk , its like a shaky camera! its been 10 months, i dont know how much more i can take


I am not familiar with your situation exactly but I had one balance nerve removed during surgery for an acoustic neuroma 10 years ago. I started out walking with a walker. Now I ride a bike many miles on trails with no problem. I do still balance largely with my eyes and can be unsteady in the dark. In my situation, I just practiced walking a whole lot out the country road we live on and across our hillside yard, in the beginning with a cane. My dr recommended 'museum' walking for practice. Walking down the street looking from one side to the other at eye level, as if you are walking through a museum looking at the pictures as you pass by.

I noticed that every 3 months after the surgery I felt like I was a lot better than before. The ongoing improvement in my balance was noticeable to me for about 2 years though I did not use a cane after 2 months.

I hope your situation is simiar. Good luck and keep on walking!

Hi Joni

What sort of ENG results did you have? It does happen with unilaterals.. very true, but sometimes it is just the description of it that can be difficult to interpret. While we all have those odd vision issues (for example sometimes when I walk past a building it can look like it is swaying), the oscillopsia from bilateral dysfunction is often very severe. It can be almost impossible to read signs while walking due to the blurring.

It's amazing to think that sometimes it is the first symptom people notice before they have an ENG or rotary chair test to find out they have no remaining vestibular function at all!

Adam

[QUOTE=admw;3244443]The "shaky camera vision" - oscillopsia - is more often associated with bilateral vestibular dysfunction than unilateral vestibular dysfunction.
QUOTE]

This is true, but people with unilateral dysfunction can have it as well. I have had it all along.

Hi Joni

What sort of ENG results did you have? It does happen with unilaterals.. very true, but sometimes it is just the description of it that can be difficult to interpret. While we all have those odd vision issues (for example sometimes when I walk past a building it can look like it is swaying), the oscillopsia from bilateral dysfunction is often very severe. It can be almost impossible to read signs while walking due to the blurring.

It's amazing to think that sometimes it is the first symptom people notice before they have an ENG or rotary chair test to find out they have no remaining vestibular function at all!

Adam

[QUOTE=JoniMichelle;3244598]
Hi Adam.
Ok, my attempt to post just disappeared so this will be shorter! I had a 99% loss in my right ear by caloric testing. I wouldn't say I have traditional osciplopsia, because the world is always constantly moving ever so slightly to me whether I am static or dynamic, but the world is definitely moving up and down when I walk.

Have a great day!