Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA)
Website Terms of Use
Effective Date: October 29, 2026
Welcome to the Vestibular Disorders Association (“VeDA,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of VeDA’s website, online services, educational resources, mobile features, digital communications, and any associated applications or artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot (collectively, the “Website”).
By accessing or using the Website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Website.
1. Purpose of the Website
VeDA is a nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to ensure vestibular disorders are widely recognized, rapidly diagnosed, and effectively treated.
The Website provides educational information, patient and caregiver resources, professional education, research updates, support services, provider listings, and opportunities to engage with the vestibular community. The information provided is intended solely for educational and informational purposes.
2. Medical Disclaimer
VeDA does not practice medicine or provide medical care.
The information available through the Website—including articles, videos, podcasts, webinars, downloadable publications, support group discussions, provider directory listings, educational tools, and chatbot responses—is intended solely for general educational purposes.
VeDA’s patient education articles are written or reviewed by qualified medical professionals and are periodically updated. Patient stories and testimonials published by VeDA reflect individual experiences and are not edited for medical accuracy.
Health-related information changes frequently. As a result, information on the Website may at times be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect.
Nothing on this Website should be interpreted as medical advice or as a substitute for consultation with a qualified physician or other licensed healthcare professional.
Do not use information obtained from this Website to diagnose or treat a medical condition or to make decisions regarding your healthcare without consulting an appropriate healthcare provider.
The information on the Website has important limitations compared to being examined by your own physician: you can have a conversation with your doctor; your doctor can perform a physical examination and any necessary tests; and you could have an underlying medical problem that requires a physician to detect.
Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of information obtained from this Website.
Statements made on the Website about products or treatments have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The disclaimers in this Section also apply to VeDA’s official social media pages. Articles and other content that VeDA shares or re-posts from other sources are not vetted by medical professionals associated with VeDA, and sharing or re-posting does not constitute VeDA’s endorsement.
If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 (or your local emergency services) or go immediately to the nearest emergency department. Do not rely on this Website or the VeDA chatbot during a medical emergency.
3. Educational Chatbot
VeDA may provide an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot to help users locate educational information available on the Website and, in some cases, summarize, organize, or synthesize information from VeDA and other carefully selected, reputable health information sources.
The chatbot is intended solely as an educational resource designed to improve access to health information. It is not a healthcare provider and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, or medical opinions. Use of the chatbot does not establish a healthcare provider-patient relationship with VeDA or any healthcare professional.
Before accessing the chatbot, you will be required to affirmatively acknowledge and accept these Terms of Use, including this Section 3, by checking a box or completing a similar acknowledgment step. Your acknowledgment creates a record of your agreement that the chatbot provides general educational information only and does not provide medical advice.
Because the chatbot uses artificial intelligence, its responses may occasionally be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, or not applicable to your individual circumstances. AI-generated responses are provided for your convenience only and should not be considered authoritative, comprehensive, or error-free.
Although VeDA makes reasonable efforts to ensure the chatbot references trustworthy educational sources, users are solely responsible for evaluating and verifying the information they receive.
Chatbot Data: Please do not enter personal, medical, or other sensitive information into the chatbot. Chatbot questions and responses may be recorded, stored, and reviewed to improve the chatbot and VeDA’s educational resources, and may be processed by third-party service providers that support the chatbot, as described in Section 9.
Users should consult a qualified healthcare professional before making decisions regarding their health or medical care. You should never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice because of information provided by the chatbot.
The chatbot is not intended for emergency situations. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 (or your local emergency services) or seek immediate medical attention.
4. No Healthcare Provider-Patient Relationship
Your use of the Website does not create a physician-patient, therapist-patient, counselor-patient, or other healthcare provider relationship with VeDA or with any of its officers, employees, volunteers, contractors, Medical Advisory Board members, authors, reviewers, presenters, or contributors.
5. Provider Directory
VeDA’s Provider Directory is intended to help individuals identify healthcare professionals with an interest or expertise in vestibular disorders.
Provider listings are offered solely as a public service and do not constitute referrals, endorsements, certifications, guarantees of competence, or recommendations by VeDA.
VeDA does not verify every aspect of a provider’s credentials, licensure, experience, treatment methods, availability, insurance participation, or clinical outcomes. Patients are responsible for evaluating and selecting their own healthcare providers.
6. No Endorsement
References to physicians, healthcare organizations, commercial products, publications, educational programs, research studies, external websites, or other organizations are provided for informational purposes only.
Unless expressly stated, such references do not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, certification, or guarantee by VeDA.
Opinions expressed by guest authors, podcast guests, webinar speakers, support group participants, volunteers, or other contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of VeDA.
VeDA may accept advertising and sponsorships under its published guidelines. The presence of an advertisement or sponsor acknowledgment on the Website or in VeDA communications does not constitute VeDA’s endorsement of the advertised company, product, or service, and advertisers and sponsors may not state or imply VeDA’s endorsement.
7. Research Information
VeDA shares information about published scientific research, clinical trials, emerging therapies, and ongoing investigations to promote education and awareness.
Medical knowledge evolves continually, and new evidence may change current scientific understanding or clinical recommendations. Inclusion of research findings on this Website does not imply that a treatment has been proven effective, is appropriate for every individual, or is endorsed by VeDA.
Users should discuss research findings and treatment options with their healthcare providers before making healthcare decisions.
8. Support Groups and Community Programs
VeDA facilitates peer support opportunities, including virtual and in-person support groups and community discussions.
Information shared by participants reflects personal experiences and opinions and should not be considered medical advice.
Participation in support groups is voluntary, and users remain responsible for decisions regarding their own healthcare.
9. Privacy
VeDA respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you voluntarily provide.
Information We Collect
Depending on your interaction with the Website, we may collect:
- Contact information
- Donation information
- Membership information
- Event registrations
- Survey responses
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Information submitted through forms
- Technical information such as browser type, device information, IP address, referring pages, and Website usage
- Cookies and similar technologies
How We Use Information
We may use collected information to:
- Respond to inquiries
- Process donations and memberships
- Register participants for programs and events
- Deliver newsletters and requested communications
- Improve Website content and functionality
- Analyze Website performance
- Maintain Website security
- Meet legal or regulatory obligations
VeDA does not sell your personal information.
Cookies
The Website uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes: analytics and performance, such as Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity, which help us understand how visitors use the Website; functionality, such as remembering your language preference or whether you have dismissed a popup; security and performance, including services such as Cloudflare and Wordfence that protect the Website from malicious traffic; and account access, supporting single sign-on to VeDA’s secure portal. VeDA does not use cookies or similar technologies for advertising or to track you across other websites.
Most browsers allow users to disable cookies, although doing so may affect Website functionality.
Third-Party Services
VeDA uses trusted third-party providers to perform services such as payment processing, event registration, fundraising, analytics, email communications, video hosting, customer relationship management, and other operational functions.
These providers receive only the information reasonably necessary to perform those services.
External Websites
The Website contains links to third-party websites for user convenience.
VeDA is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, accuracy, or content of external websites.
Users should review the privacy policies of any third-party websites they visit.
Information Security
VeDA employs reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information submitted through the Website.
However, no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Accordingly, VeDA cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted through the Internet.
Children’s Privacy
The Website and chatbot are not directed to children under 13, and VeDA does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information through the Website, please contact us at [email protected] so that we can delete it.
Email Communications
You may unsubscribe from VeDA’s email communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in each email or by contacting us at [email protected].
10. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise indicated, all Website content—including text, graphics, photographs, videos, podcasts, educational materials, publications, logos, trademarks, design elements, and software—is owned by VeDA or used under license and is protected by applicable copyright, trademark, and intellectual property laws.
Users may download or print Website materials solely for personal, educational, and non-commercial use, provided all copyright and attribution notices remain intact.
No Website content may be copied, reproduced, distributed, modified, publicly displayed, sold, or incorporated into another work without VeDA’s prior written permission, except as otherwise permitted by law.
11. User Submissions
By voluntarily submitting stories, testimonials, comments, photographs, videos, or other materials to VeDA, you grant VeDA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, edit, and display such materials in connection with its educational and charitable mission unless otherwise agreed in writing. This Section does not apply to questions or other content submitted through the chatbot, which are addressed in Section 3.
You represent that you own or have permission to submit any materials you provide.
12. Acceptable Use
Users agree not to:
- Use the Website for unlawful purposes;
- Attempt unauthorized access to Website systems;
- Introduce malware or other malicious software;
- Interfere with Website functionality;
- Harvest personal information from other users;
- Misrepresent their identity;
- Use automated tools to scrape Website content without authorization;
- Violate applicable laws or regulations.
VeDA reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to the Website for violations of these Terms.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Website and all content are provided “as is” and “as available.”
To the fullest extent permitted by law, VeDA disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, reliability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, availability, and non-infringement. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.
VeDA does not warrant that the Website will operate without interruption, errors, security vulnerabilities, or harmful software.
14. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, VeDA and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, advisors, Medical Advisory Board members, contributors, and affiliates shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or related to the use of, or inability to use, the Website or reliance upon any information provided through the Website. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.
15. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless VeDA and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, affiliates, advisors, and contributors from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses arising from your violation of these Terms or your misuse of the Website.
16. Changes to These Terms
VeDA may revise these Terms of Use from time to time.
Updated Terms become effective upon posting to the Website, and the Effective Date shown above will be updated accordingly. If VeDA makes material changes to these Terms, VeDA will provide reasonable advance notice, such as by posting a notice on the Website. Continued use of the Website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
17. Governing Law
These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Website shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Multnomah County, Oregon, and the parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
18. General Provisions
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. VeDA’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of its right to enforce that provision later. These Terms, together with any policies referenced in them, constitute the entire agreement between you and VeDA regarding use of the Website.
19. Contact Information
Questions regarding these Terms of Use may be directed to:
Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA)
Website: https://vestibular.org
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
5018 NE 15th Ave
Portland, OR 97211
