01/26/2026
🧠 Dizziness & Vertigo Are Not Random — They’re a Sensory Mismatch Problem
At The Functional Neurology Center, we don’t look at dizziness or vertigo as a diagnosis.
We look at it as a systems-level communication error inside the nervous system.
Most patients are told:
• “Your scans are normal”
• “It’s anxiety”
• “You just have to live with it”
But dizziness is rarely “in your head.”
It’s in the way the brain is comparing sensory information.
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⚖️ The Real Problem: Sensory Mismatch
Your brain is constantly comparing input from three primary systems:
👁 Visual system – eye movements, visual stability, motion detection
👂 Vestibular system – inner ear motion, gravity, head movement
🦴 Somatosensory system – neck, feet, joints, and body position
When these systems agree, you feel stable.
When they disagree, the brain interprets that mismatch as a threat.
➡️ The result is dizziness, vertigo, nausea, imbalance, or motion sensitivity.
This is not weakness.
This is the nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do — detect danger.
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🔁 Why Symptoms Persist
After concussion, whiplash, illness, infection, stress, or repeated vestibular insults, the brain can get “stuck” in a mismatch loop:
• Expected signals ≠ Actual signals
• Increased error detection
• Heightened sympathetic (SNS) activation
• Sensory hypersensitivity
• Worsening dizziness with motion, light, or busy environments
Over time, this becomes a central processing issue, not just an inner ear problem.
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🧠 The Role of the Cerebellum & Brainstem
The cerebellum and vestibular nuclei are responsible for:
• Calibrating sensory input
• Suppressing error signals
• Coordinating eye, head, and body movement
If these systems are under-performing or poorly integrated, the brain cannot “smooth out” sensory noise — and symptoms persist.
This is why:
• BPPV treatments sometimes fail
• “Normal” tests don’t explain ongoing dizziness
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🔬 How We Approach Dizziness & Vertigo at theFNC
We don’t chase symptoms — we restore system integration.
Our work focuses on:
✔ Identifying which sensory systems are mismatched
✔ Determining how the brain is weighting those inputs
✔ Restoring accurate sensory calibration
✔ Reducing threat signaling and autonomic overload
This often includes targeted work with:
• Visual-vestibular integration
• Cervical proprioceptive input
• Cerebellar tuning and timing
• Postural and balance control
• Autonomic regulation
Every program is individualized — because no two nervous systems are the same.
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🌊 The Goal Isn’t Compensation — It’s Reorganization
We are not trying to “teach you to cope” with dizziness.
We are working toward true CNS reorganization, where:
• Sensory inputs realign
• Error signals quiet down
• Movement becomes automatic again
• Confidence returns
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🧭 If You’ve Been Told “Nothing Is Wrong” — There Is More to Look At
Dizziness, vertigo, nausea, imbalance, and motion sensitivity are signals, not mysteries.
With the right neurological framework, they make sense.
And when they make sense — they can change.
There is hope.
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The Functional Neurology Center
🧠 Precision Care for Complex Neurological Conditions
TheFNC.com
DC DACNB
