Home / What Is MdDS? – Symptoms

Most commonly, MdDS presents after an ocean cruise, air, or automobile travel. Symptoms usually begin shortly after the cessation of the motion. Imagine never feeling at rest..

What are the Symptoms of MdDS?

Persistent sensation of oscillating motion such as:

  • Rocking (front to back)
  • Bobbing (up and down)
  • Swaying (side to side)
  • Gravitational pull

Symptoms are often accompanied by:

  • Cognitive impairment
  • Imbalance or staggering gait
  • Sense of unstable ground

Symptoms Not Typically Associated with MdDS

  • Rotational or spinning vertigo
  • Double vision
  • Bouncing vision
  • Nausea
  • Nystagmus
  • Sound sensitivity
  • Tinnitus
  • Hearing loss

See the Diagnostic Criteria consensus document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society (PDF).

Symptoms Less Frequently Reported

  • Sensitivity to light
  • Dizziness
  • Headaches
  • Migraine Headaches
  • Intolerance of busy patterns
  • Visual motion intolerance
  • Loss of self-confidence
  • Confusion
  • Memory loss
  • Ear pain and/or fullness
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Difficulty multitasking

Is MdDS Remission Possible?

Yes! As a given course of MdDS progresses toward remission, symptoms lessen in severity and intervals of symptom-free periods become more frequent and prolonged. Patients with 0 perception of motion, sustained for at least six (6) months, may consider themselves in remission.

Symptom Severity Scale

None

0

None

Negligible: barely noticeable

Very Mild: noticeable

Mild: distracting sometimes

Low: distracting usually

Intermediate: interrupting

Moderate: hard to ignore

High: can’t ignore

Very High: awful

Severe: hard to bear

Very Severe: as bad as it could be

What Increases MdDS Symptoms?

  • Stress
  • Lack of sleep
  • Working at a computer for extended intervals
  • Enclosed spaces such as the shower, stairwells or long hallways especially those with busy carpet patterns
  • Supermarket aisles and other rapidly changing stimuli such as flipping through pages or images & screen scrolling
  • Changes in barometric pressure (weather)
  • Allergy symptoms
  • Fatigue, increasing as the day progresses.

What Alleviates MdDS Symptoms?

  • Travel (e.g., movement/motion in a car or airplane)
  • Establishing a vigorous exercise program

Learn about coping with MdDS

Is MdDS Episodic?

In some patients, repeated bouts of MdDS may occur and are usually associated with a precipitating event, e.g., travel or high stress. Subsequent episodes are generally more prolonged but some patients experience a quick return to baseline.

Getting a diagnosis How to cope with MdDS
Symptoms MdDS Foundation 9:16 pm