When you find out you have an acoustic neuroma, you usually learn pretty quickly that you are likely to have hearing loss on the side of the tumor. You may also learn that balance difficulties are a common symptom and outcome of the tumor. Oftentimes, what is not well communicated is that these balance challenges can can come in many different forms and impacts to you life.

Essentially, the entire balance system is reprogrammed when you have an acoustic neuroma. When you have the tumor, typically the balance (or vestibular) nerve is essentially sending scrambled information to your brain as the tumor impacts the nerve. This can mean you are off balance all the time or that you have random bouts of losing your balance (or experience nausea, or dizziness, etc). Often the balance nerve is cut during acoustic neuroma removal surgery so then after surgery suddenly the brain is getting no information from the balance system on that side. This creates a need for the brain to reorganize how it gets this information. Generally, vestibular rehabilitation therapy is used to train the brain how to cope with the issues of a flawed vestibular system. It focuses heavily on using vision to orient yourself.

After going through all these vestibular disturbances, figuring out your balance and where the challenges lie can be a real process. While we may automatically think twice before getting on a ladder, other balance challenges may be less obvious. Also, it may very well be that some days the brain has more capacity to cope with vestibular challenges than others, so fluctuation in balance concerns is a common occurrence.

When I talk with people about vestibular issues, a recurring struggle is the grocery store. While this may not feel intuitive, if you break it down it makes sense. Grocery stores require a lot of head turning while walking, that is a very advanced vestibular skill. Also, all the lines of items can really mess with your visual perception. Plus you need to scan up and down the shelves, adding an additional layer of complexity. To top it all off, there is a ton of stimulation with lights, noise, and people. And while you are processing all of this input you are trying to locate your items and make decisions. This can overwhelm your brain and make your balance a huge struggle at the grocery store.

Most people I have spoken with about their grocery store struggles feel alone- but in fact this is such a common challenge it has a name- “Supermarket Syndrome.” There are several great articles like the one below with more information on how this works in your brain.

So let’s talk about how to cope with Supermarket Syndrome. First off, if you haven’t tried vestibular rehabilitation therapy I 100% recommend it. I also suggest using a shopping cart to help you stabilize yourself when shopping. Even just the feel of the cart under your hands gives your body another data point to help sort out the dizziness. I recommend trying smaller stores and quieter times of day to help with stimulation. Ear plugs can also be a huge help to lessen stimulation- some people say lots of noise can impact their dizziness. Also, try slowing head turns to see if that helps decrease the feeling.

For me, I found that practice really helped my brain become accustomed to grocery stores over time. I still can struggle, especially if I am really tired or under the weather at all. I also had to set parameters with my children regarding noise and interruptions. And I honestly am strategic about using things like grocery pick up when I know I am run down and don’t need another stressor on my brain. But these days grocery shopping is more of a drain than a herculean feat, and I really think that change is all about time and practice for my brain to become accustomed to this new balance system.