Self-reported dizziness, balance, and multisensory impairment following mild traumatic brain injury: an exploratory study

Dizziness following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, is common and can encompass multiple sensations reflecting diverse aetiologies. This exploratory study investigated the types of dizzy sensations experienced, their evolution, and relationship with other post-concussion symptoms. Thirty New Zealanders (24 female) aged 49 +/- 16 years who experienced dizziness or imbalance following their injury completed the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Additional custom questionnaires probed subjective experiences of dizziness and balance, headaches, and difficulties with auditory processing and vision. Just over half the participants (56.7%) experienced a single mTBI. The median time interval since the injury was 16 months (IQR=24 months). Participants usually reported multiple dizzy symptoms which developed within a week of the injury, although delays of up to six months were reported. Most participants (70%) felt their symptoms improved over time, while lack of improvement was associated with a history of multiple mTBI (P=0.020). Moderate to strong correlations between questionnaire scores representing dizziness handicap, visual vertigo severity, and auditory processing difficulties (P<0.001) suggest that dizziness and sensory impairment following mTBI are multi-modal and likely to benefit from holistic, multidisciplinary treatment.