Vestibular Hypersensitivity

If you have a hypersensitivity in respect of your vestibular sense, you are overly sensitive to changes in movement. The world can become a very overwhelming place when even the slightest movement can feel like you’re spinning around, or about to fall over.

Even tilting your head to one side can provoke a feeling of nausea. It is common for one of the first signs of this kind of sensory disorder to be a child that actively dislikes physical activity, and prefers more sedentary activities.

Someone with vestibular over-sensitivity will often suffer a great deal from motion sickness. This can show particularly in a car (which is perhaps the most common), but sea-sickness is also very common for those that travel on boats. Even using things such as elevators or lifts can prove very difficult and even scary at times.

Even when standing still, they may have a fear of falling, simply because they do not feel as if they are standing still. They may be particularly concerned about falling off things (even low heights such as curbs may pose an issue for them).

They may also have a tendency to lean against things in an effort to make themselves feel more secure.

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