I had a canalith repositioning maneuver (Epley maneuver) at the ENT clinic and the spinning vertigo is gone, but I still feel foggy and floating, as if I'm on a boat. Can Korean medicine treatment help?

Question

Accepted Answer

The canalith repositioning maneuver (Epley maneuver) is the first-line treatment for BPPV, with a success rate of over 80% in 1-3 sessions. However, even after repositioning, it can take several days to several weeks for the sense of balance to fully recover, and a lightheaded or floating sensation may remain. This is called residual dizziness or post-BPPV syndrome, and it tends to last longer when combined with lack of sleep or chronic fatigue. The structural problem has been resolved, but the balance system and autonomic nervous system have not yet fully readapted.

Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective

At Dongjedang, we have seen cases where patients in their 40s and 50s, even after BPPV correction, continued to experience boat-like residual dizziness due to chronic fatigue and lack of sleep, making daily life difficult. At this stage, we take an approach that uses cheongsang (淸上) to bring down the heat and pressure that have gathered in the head, and resolves dameum and blood stasis to restore inner-ear blood flow. Rather than addressing the ear symptoms alone, we aim to replenish the depleted qi and blood and build a bodily state in which dizziness does not easily return.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Q I had a canalith repositioning maneuver (Epley maneuver) at the ENT clinic and the spinning vertigo is gone, but I still feel foggy and floating, as if I'm on a boat. Can Korean medicine treatment help?

Detailed Answer

Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective

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Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is not just a simple symptom