Indications – Digitineers

Introduction · By Prof. Dr. Zenner, Tübingen

Vertigo and Balance Disorders

Many diseases cause vertigo. Vertigo is so common that it almost always ranks among the top 10 complaints seen by general practitioners every year.

An important example is the degeneration of the balance sensory cells (“hair cells”) in the inner ear, which occurs above all in the relatively common vertigo of old age – physicians speak of “peripheral vestibulopathy”. Through specific vertigo exercises the brain can learn to compensate for this degeneration to a certain extent, so that everyday balance is restored. In vestibular neuritis, an inflammation of the balance nerve with sudden severe continuous vertigo, exercises can also bring considerable relief within a few weeks in many cases.

Free Guide (German)

The vertigo guide by Prof. Dr. med. H.P. Zenner

Covering: the human sense of balance · causes of vertigo and balance disorders · therapy of chronic vertigo.

Download free of charge

Indication

Vertigo

Vertigo, for example due to:

Positional vertigo · vertigo of old age
(Partial) loss of inner ear function · vestibular neuritis
Drug-induced vertigo · metabolic disorders
Injury, accident · viral inflammation
Functional vertigo
Brain tumours · acoustic neuroma
Multiple sclerosis with vertigo
Vertigo in cardiovascular disease, labyrinthitis, polyneuropathy or eye diseases

Therapy Product

Vertidisan therapy app (VH90D)

Digital antivertiginous therapy with diagnosis-specific sensorimotor and optokinetic exercise programmes.

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More about vertigo in the free Schwindelratgeber vertigo guide (German)

Indication

Balance Disorders

Balance disorders, for example due to:

Idiopathic balance disorder · age-related balance disorder
(Partial) loss of inner ear function
Drug-induced balance disorder · metabolic disorders
Injury, accident · viral inflammation
Functional balance disorder
Multiple sclerosis with balance disorder
Balance disorder in polyneuropathy or eye diseases

Therapy Product

Vertidisan therapy app (VH90D)

Digital therapy activating central vertigo compensation – also for chronic balance disorders.

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More about balance disorders in the free Schwindelratgeber vertigo guide (German)

Indication

Fall Risk, Fall Prevention

Fall risk in balance disorders or vertigo. The consequences range from everyday limitations (e.g. getting up, walking) to an increased risk of falls, need for care and hospital stays.

The Vertidisan therapy app contains strength and balance exercises developed especially for vertigo patients at risk of falling. Vertidisan is based, among other things, on the Otago Exercise Programme of the University of Otago. Possible benefits: improved muscle strength, reduced fall risk and less vertigo.

Therapy Product

Vertidisan therapy app (VH90D)

With strength and balance exercises for fall risk caused by balance disorders or vertigo.

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Indication

Muscle Loss, Sarcopenia

With increasing age, the body naturally loses muscle mass and muscle strength. This process often begins at around 30 and accelerates in old age. Causes include diseases such as balance disorders or vertigo, lack of exercise, hormonal changes and poorer protein utilization. The consequences: weakness, slower movements, higher fall risk, falls and injuries.

Prevention: Manabi Muscle Building – prevention course (coming soon)

Regular strength training and exercise can slow down muscle loss and prevent sarcopenia.
Improved muscle strength – especially in the legs (e.g. thighs and calves).
Mild muscle building or preservation: partially regain lost muscle mass, slow down further loss.
Better mobility and stability: more strength and balance lower the risk of falling.
Easier everyday life: getting up, walking or climbing stairs become easier.

Important: muscle building is usually moderate but scientifically well documented – especially with regular training (2–7× per week).

Prevention Product

Manabi Muscle Building – prevention course (coming soon)

Simple training programme with strength and balance exercises – developed especially for older people.

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Indication

Hyperacusis

Painful hyperacusis means that normal everyday sounds, or even human speech, can trigger pain. The cause is probably a maladaptation of central auditory processing in the brain: the auditory system reacts too strongly to sounds and can, at the same time, connect with the nerve networks responsible for bodily sensations and pain.

In these patients, the threshold at which sounds become unpleasant is markedly lowered. It can be as low as about 65–75 dB HL. As a result, everyday ambient sounds can be perceived as unbearably loud or even distinctly painful.

According to current scientific knowledge, several mechanisms probably interact:

Excessive amplification of sounds in the brain: partial damage to the cochlea or its nerve connections can mean that less auditory information is transmitted from the inner ear to the brain. This can occur even when a standard hearing test shows no hearing loss. The brain tries to compensate for the reduced signals by increasing its own amplification. This adaptation can overshoot, so that sounds are processed with excessive amplification along the auditory pathway.
Connection between the auditory and pain systems: in painful hyperacusis, the auditory system can additionally activate nerve networks responsible for bodily sensations and pain. A sound is then perceived not only as too loud but as actually painful.
Increased sensitivity of the central nervous system: painful hyperacusis occurs more frequently together with conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraine, complex regional pain syndrome and other chronic pain states. The central nervous system as a whole can then react more sensitively to stimuli. The pain threshold drops, so that normally harmless sounds can trigger pain.

The practical consequence: this brain-controlled pain and discomfort threshold is not fixed. Through gradual, targeted, personalized, hyperacusis-specific sound retraining – for example with the Manabi hyperacusis retraining course – the thresholds can be raised again and the symptoms reduced. This indicates that painful hyperacusis is based on modifiable processes in the auditory and nervous system, not on irreversible mechanical damage.

Health Course

Manabi Hyperacusis – health course (coming soon)

The app with the ENT retraining course to improve hyperacusis – an unbearably increased sensitivity to sound.

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