What is Vestibular Hypofunction that Varun Dhawan suffered from?

Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan recently revealed his battle with a medical condition called vestibular hypofunction.

The star was speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2022 held in Mumbai where he also talked about how he pushed himself too hard post-pandemic.

“Recently, I just shut down. I didn’t know what had happened to me. I had this thing called vestibular hypofunction, (where) basically your balance goes off. But I just pushed myself so hard. We are just running in this race, nobody is asking why,” shared Dhawan.

“The minute we opened doors, don’t you think we went back to the same rat race? How many people here can say that they have changed? I see people working even harder!” the actor said about resuming life after the lockdown.

So, what is Vestibular Hypofunction and what are its symptoms? We take a closer look.

What is vestibular hypofunction?

Vestibular hypofunction is a heterogenous condition that is a result of defects in the vestibular organs, eighth cranial nerves or a combination of the two. The condition can lead to impairments in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and disrupt the normal functioning of vestibular organs.

Once affected by vestibular hypofunction, the vestibular system that sits inside the inner ear and works with the eyes and muscles to keep a person balanced, stops functioning properly and starts sending error messages to the brain.

There are two kinds of vestibular hypofunction, one that occurs on one side called unilateral hypofunction and the other that affects both sides of the head called bilateral hypofunction.

According to Balance and Falls Centre, both kinds are diagnosed with a test called Videonystagmography (VNG) which uses thermal power to show absent or diminished inner ear response. The other testing methods include rotary chair testing which requires a patient to wear infrared video goggles that record eye movements and head impulse testing which shows the eyes slip off the target during a rapid head movement.

What causes vestibular hypofunction?

According to a report by Indian Express, Dr Anurag Tandon, an ENT specialist, said, “Unilateral hypofunction can occur after damage from a variety of causes, including vestibular neuritis, vestibular schwannoma/treatments for vestibular schwannoma, and Meniere’s disease/treatments for Meniere’s disease.”

Meanwhile, bilateral hypofunction can be a result of damage to the inner ear or balance nerve caused by a variety of reasons like exposure to antibiotics that are toxic to the inner ear called aminoglycoside, autoimmune diseases, congenital problems, and trauma, among other things.

Other causes of vestibular hypofunction, according to NHS Lanarkshire, include labyrinthitis,—an inner ear infection—previous ear conditions, changes in the balance system as a result of aging and medications.

What are its symptoms?

Patients suffering from vestibular hypofunction often complain of their inability to maintain balance. When the condition gets severe, a person may feel off balance even while lying or sitting down. However, a person will only start noticing this symptom after they get up or start walking.

Another symptom, called oscillopsia can be an outcome of the condition. In simple terms, oscillopsia is visual blurring or a situation where individuals may see objects oscillating when the head is in motion. According to Physiopedia, this symptom is experienced by 86 per cent of patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction.

Once diagnosed with vestibular hypofunction, a patient’s visual dependency and the use of visual inputs increases which can lead to visual vertigo. This is when the symptom of feeling off-balance is aggravated by visual contexts such as moving objects, busy or crowded places, scrolling on the computer screen, and the like.

Vestibular hypofunction also triggers “brain fog” which can cause difficulty in concentrating and fatigue. These symptoms are the result of extra attention to tasks such as walking to keep oneself balanced. Patients often cannot combinedly perform cognitive and physical tasks like walking and talking at the same time.

How can it be treated?

However serious vestibular hypofunction might get, it is treatable.

Depending on the cause, a patient might need antibiotics and antifungal treatments to eliminate ear infections that might be disrupting one’s balance.

A change in lifestyle has also been proved as a plausible treatment for vestibular hypofunction. Giving up the habit of smoking, and altering diets and physical activities have improved the severity of the medical condition in the past.

When medicine or therapies fail, a patient might have to undergo surgery to control the symptoms. The procedure depends on the underlying causes of the disorder and the goal is to stabilise and repair inner ear function.

Rehabilitation or balance retraining therapies are recommended to patients suffering from the disorder. In this, a specialist helps a patient to learn how to cope with symptoms like dizziness. Some might need to learn better safety strategies for going up and down stairs, driving, walking and exercising.

With inputs from agencies

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