When my acoustic neuroma brain tumor was removed in 2015, my balance nerve (vestibular nerve) on my left side was also removed. I had to relearn my balance after surgery. These days, my vestibular system relies greatly on my vision to determine my balance. I was able to recover the vast majority of my balance and resume the activities I love. However, I certainly have a balance weakness and need to give it extra focus and energy and be aware of challenging situations. I am cautious about my balance, while always trying to exercise it and grow this important lifelong skill.

I recently enjoyed a beach vacation on the Atlantic. I think of myself in reasonably good shape, but I was not prepared for how hard my body would be working on balance through all of the days on beach. Maybe it should have been obvious, but I had not thought about how beach days are balance work out days. Whether I was walking on sand, standing in the surf, or swimming through waves- all of the beach fun was taxing for my vestibular system. I found my actual balance muscles- calves, ankles, and core- to get quite tight and sore after my long day at the ocean. I also experienced some real fatigue from my brain working hard on balance all day.

The beach is a challenge for everyone’s balance. I definitely got to watch several family members get knocked over by waves. What surprised me was that even though my balance is technically worse, I frequently noticed that I was adapting to the challenging balance situation better than people with two vestibular nerves. Because I am accustomed to being off balance and working through difficult vestibular situations, I often find I have the right tool kit and mindset to do a really good job handling the difficult balance times.

I also noticed that I needed to really stay on top of my electrolytes at the beach. With the heat and high humidity, just drinking water was not enough. Making sure that I included electrolytes made me feel a lot better and more stable. It can be easy to miss that piece, especially if you are like me and unused to those extremely muggy temperatures.

If you are looking to make your beach experience easier for your balance, I noticed a few things that lessened the effort. Walking on the wet sand is much less challenging than balancing on the dry. If you want to be in the water, it is much easier to balance past that part of the surf where the waves are breaking. It can be counter intuitive that deeper in the water is easier, but it often is. I also preferred swimming through or ducking under waves rather than standing through them when my balance energy was flagging. Also, when your balance is struggling remember to use a focal point that isn’t the water to help your vestibular system calibrate.

In the end, I was really excited I had the opportunity to exercise my balance. It is always a useful thing for me to practice. I was grateful that I was able to do all the things that I wanted to and have excellent family time outdoors. Next time, I will remember that beach days require extra energy for balancing and plan accordingly. I would likely also plan in breaks to give myself some reset time, as that can help with the mental and physical fatigue.