- Children with vestibular problems may feel a whirling or spinning sensation in their heads. This gives the illusion that the world around them, or the child himself (or herself), is moving. Children often describe the feeling as floating, being light-headed or feeling like they are rocking. They may feel the sensation that they are being pulled in a particular direction or being weighted down.
- The word "vestibular" refers to the inner ear and balance, and children may have trouble balancing if they have a vestibular problem. They may stumble, have problems walking straight lines and even turning corners. They appear clumsy and uncoordinated. Children affected tend to look down and their heads may tilt to the side. They experience difficulty obtaining and maintaining straight posture and tend to hold onto something when they are standing; they often hold their head(s) when seated. Joint and muscle pain may result from their difficulties in balancing.
- Difficulty focusing on and tracking objects with the eyes is common among vestibular children. Words seem to bounce, float or jump off of their pages, or appear doubled or blurry. Visibly busy locales such as malls, crowds and traffic can cause these children discomfort. They may be sensitive to light, flickering lights and glare, and fluorescent lights tend to aggravate their vision problems. Trouble with depth perception and walking in the dark are also symptomatic, and some of these children may even have night blindness.
- Ringing or buzzing in the ears common to vestibular children can result in fluctuating hearing, distorted hearing and hearing loss. They display sensitivity to loud environments and loud clatter, and noisy environments can contribute to increased imbalance and vertigo.
- Children who have vestibular problems will often be easily distracted, have trouble paying attention and find it hard to concentrate. They may have short-term memory lapses and may be deemed forgetful. These children may have trouble understanding instructions and directions and will often seem confused. They often have a loss of self-esteem, self-confidence and self-reliance. They may feel anxious and nervous; some go on to develop depression.
- Vestibular problems may manifest in nausea and vomiting. Complaints of feeling like they have motion sickness, ear pain and fullness in the ears and headaches are commonly cited. Children may have slurred speech, and some are especially sensitive to changes in the wind, the temperature and the air pressure.
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