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 perception of movement such as:

  • Rocking (front to back)
  • Bobbing (up and down)
  • Swaying (side to side)
  • Gravitational pull (pulling sensation in a specific direction)

NEW! interactive Symptom severity Scale

Not Symptoms of MdDS

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

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

Symptoms Commonly Associated with MdDS

While MdDS is a disorder of perceived movement, researchers will want to study other aspects, or domains, of the MdDS experience. Symptoms that are not of movement may include:

  • Sense of unstable ground
  • Imbalance or staggering gait
  • Dizziness
  • Headaches
  • Migraine Headaches
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Intolerance of busy patterns
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Visual motion intolerance
  • Sound sensitivity
  • Confusion
  • Memory loss
  • Ear pain and/or fullness
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Difficulty multitasking
  • Loss of self-confidence

Is MdDS Remission Possible?

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

A Balanced Scale

New in 2025! Measure and Monitor your MdDS – the perception of movement when you’re not actually in motion – with our new interactive scale. Help others understand how the intensity of your symptoms can vary, and how they can affect your daily life. A printable scale makes sharing findings with your physician simple! Download and Print the New Scale

Interactive Symptom Severity Scale

None
Mild
Low
Moderate
High
Severe
Mild
Low
Moderate
High
Severe

None

Very Mild

Barely noticeable

Mild

Noticeable

Very Low

Distracting sometimes

Low

Distracting usually

Intermediate

Interrupting

Moderate

Hard to ignore

High

Can't ignore

Very High

Awful

Severe

Hard to bear

Very Severe

Unbearable

Select the number to highlight your level.

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

The MdDS Foundation is developing a patient registry to collect data on symptom modifiers—factors that increase or decrease the intensity of MdDS symptoms. We’ll share our findings here once enough data has been collected and analyzed. Visit the MdDS Registry page to learn more.

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. Find answers to other FAQs on the About the Disorder & FAQs page.

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