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Dizziness/balance problems related to sensory overload?

LilyJo

Active Member
Hello all!
I've been experiencing balance issues which have led to falling recently. I seem to be more unstable if I've ended up shutdown or close to being shutdown due to noise/light hypersensitivity issues. I will be speaking to gp about this but was wondering if it was a spectrum related thing. GP's tend to be fairly clueless about AS related stuff so I thought I'd ask here? Has anyone else experienced dizziness or falling in response to sensory problems? Anything you've that helped? Thankyou!
 
Not exactly, no, I haven't. Mornings are when my symptoms are all the worst and on bad days I'll be very sensitive to all input while staggering like a drunk giraffe. So possibly related? If I had a guess, I would say that the overwhelm is pulling strength away from your inner ear to focus on dealing with your hearing and vision.
 
I don't have this difficulty invariably as a symptom of shutdown / meltdown, but I am more likely to experience shutdowns and meltdowns when my body chemistry is off (hormones, diet, etc.) and I do experience balance problems then. I frequently fall when I am ill or getting ill.

That said, I have mild proprioceptive difficulties on a daily basis--it is part of my normal functioning, I guess. I drop things a lot, or apply too much force when setting things down or picking them up; and I walk into things or trip over things. In general, quite clumsy. But I don't feel dizzy or lose my balance completely when those things happen. Generally the dizziness occurs only when my body chemistry is off.
 
I agree with Naturalist, check your diet. For me if I am low on Niacin or Folic Acid then, get overwhelmed with sensory input, I get dizzy. Both nutrients help nerves work better so, it makes sense. Being dehydrated can also cause overload dizziness for me, and it's easy to be mildly dehydrated and not know it.

Of course an ear infection or, anything that messes with your inner ear can cause balance problems and dizziness as well but, if that's the problem, it's usually constant until the problem is resolved.
 
For what it's worth, I do. I have to take special folic acid / B vitamins (MTHFR issues) and I get this most in the mornings and when I'm dehydrated and when my weight is down (I'm underweight).

I just get "dizzy" with any sensory overload, but not always to falling down stage.

There is also ataxia to look into, depending on how serious this is for you.
 
Thanks everyone. I've been to gp, he's not sure what's going on and I will be having blood tests, from the list gp said I don't expect to have much blood left afterwards! Nutritionwise I have been eating better recently and this just got worse which doesn't makes sense. Thankyou all for your input, if anyone else has experienced this is be really grateful if you would share your experiences.
 
LilyJo
This is one of the 3 days so far this year I haven't worn a hooded sweatshirt
for the entire day. I have a referral to an ENT this fall. Maybe he can do
something about the pain/vertigo/ringing in my ears. I have to wear many
layers of clothing all year round or else-----WHAM---in less than 60 seconds
my ears ache and I am...dizzy? sea sick? I don't know what to call it, but it
is bad.

I guess this isn't about sensory overload, unless---by a very long stretch---
you can call 'addition of cold' an overload of the senses.:(
 
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