This article originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of On The Level.
“Brain fog will take the wind out of your sails and make it extremely difficult to stay focused. It is a frustrating clouding of consciousness.”
– Glenn Schweitzer, Mind Over Meniere’s
I remember the first time I used the term “brain fog,” trying to describe my feelings to a doctor. The confused, concerned look I received convinced me not to use this description with him again. I’d love to see the note he put in my chart. But, Brain Fog is a real thing, and it affects many of us who live with vestibular disorders. Our brains just fog up sometimes.
What Is Brain Fog and Why Does It Happen?
“Like its name, these symptoms cloud your mind and make it difficult to perform routine tasks like holding a conversation, listening to instructions or remembering the steps of something you’re doing.”
– Cleveland Clinic
Brain fog often co-exists with an underlying health condition, but can also result from lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and inflammation. In fact, neuro-inflammation, brain inflammation, may also lead to this mind fuzziness.
Health challenges such as diabetes, immune disorders like lupus, hormone changes, stress, and so on can also affect our cognitive clarity. The list is long and includes vestibular disorders. In fact, any disruption to the usual brain/nerve function can lead to this frustrating symptom.
And, of course, those parts of our brains that keep us upright and moving are working hard when we have a vestibular disorder, consuming a tremendous amount of energy that quickly tires the brain. This exhaustion can show up as confusion, fuzziness, or memory problems.
One lab doing research related to migraine calls the process Cortical Depression (American Migraine Foundation). It is thought that when cells in the brain experience certain electrical or blood flow disruptions, this “depression” spreads across the brain, causing a slowdown in thought, memory, and word retrieval. Hopefully, as research on vestibular treatments advances, these insights will guide us to a better understanding of brain fog.
How to Describe Brain Fog
“If you have brain fog, you might feel frustrated and stuck. Your mind is in a state of buffering, like waiting for a video to load with an unstable internet connection.”
– Cleveland Clinic
Do you sometimes struggle to describe your symptoms to friends, family, and healthcare providers? I do. Especially when I’m met with doubting stares, it can be helpful to actually plan a script and choose words before you need them. It will give you some confidence and can educate others. So, win-win.
Words to use: unfocused, distracted, tired, confused, muddled, fuzzy-headed. It is also useful to make the connection between your diagnosis and the fogginess, so people understand it’s a symptom, not a condition. Simply explaining that with a vestibular disorder, the brain is working overtime to keep the body moving and steady, which leads to a tired brain, can clarify.
What to do about Brain Fog
“Write it all down, keep a fixed routine, keep an ‘I did it’ list, rather than a ‘to-do’ list, find your most productive time of day, get rid of distractions, and go for a walk.”
– Glenn Schweitzer, Mind Over Meniere’s
Notice the Fog, Acknowledge it, and Dare it to Ruin Your Day
In the spirit of mindfulness and self-acceptance, work with the fog, rather than fighting it. That’s a mind game, granted, but it’s less frustrating and more productive than anger and sadness. Research continues to teach us that how we frame our thoughts can have a significant impact on our physical symptoms and overall health.
Slow Down
I’ve noticed that I can no longer multitask. Maybe it’s aging, maybe it’s vestibular fog, but either way, I do better with all tasks when I don’t attempt to do too many at once. No more conversations on the phone while I’m washing dishes, or reading and listening to music. You won’t accomplish as much, but what you do accomplish will probably be better, and that’s another win in the quality-of-life column.
Find the Humor
Instead of being embarrassed about being somewhat fuzzy, make a joke about it. Let people see that you are aware and doing ok with it all. I have a sticker on my refrigerator that says “Dizzy, Not Drunk.” When you get a bit befuddled, laugh and move on. Your brain will thank you for the stress relief.
Get Enough Sleep, Move, and Eat Good FOOD
This wisdom is often the answer to life’s concerns. Good self-care is our best defense and offense against the body’s challenges. It’s one area we have control over, and even though living healthy doesn’t fix everything, it’s a good feeling to take charge of what we can. Plus, there are no negative side effects!
Try Audio Tracks
The Symptom Relief Project uses audio tracks to calm down the brain. Glenn Schweitzer developed them as a tool to redirect brain waves – a process called Brain Retrainment – and calm symptoms of Meniere’s. It’s an interesting approach and one worth investigating, even if you don’t have Meniere’s.
When all else fails, lie down, close your eyes, and just let it be. Behind the fog, you are there and you are yourself. If only we had brain fog wipers! One day…
By Karen R. Mizrach
