





NEWS & REVIEWS

By Susan L. Engel-Arieli, M.D.

Below are summaries of articles that
appeared in recent medical journals. 

CHRONIC DIZZINESS:
DIAGNOSIS, & TREATMENT  Dr.
M. Hamid states that dizziness is one of
the top four symptoms for which patients
go to a doctor. He says that the key to
good treatment is good diagnosis and
that a detailed history is essential to
making a diagnosis. Questions that he
believes are important to ask patients
are: Do you experience a sense of
rotation (usually associated with inner
ear disorders)? When did the dizziness
start? What brings it on? How severe is
it? How long does it last? Are there
other symptoms (such as hearing loss,
tinnitus, pressure, headaches, seizures,
weakness)? Do you smoke, take
prescription or other drugs, drink, or
take illicit drugs?

A presence and pattern of abnormal
nystagmus (eye movements) can help
provide further information that may
determine a diagnosis. In vestibular
vertigo, Dr. Hamid says, the eyes often
drift to the affected side and then return
to the center, and the nystagmus can be
suppressed with the eyes open. In central
(brain-related) vertigo, the nystagmus
can be in both eyes, is often vertical, and
is often increased with visual fixation. If
nystagmus does not initially show up, the
doctor can often detect it by palpating
the patient's closed eyelids, asking the
patient to shake his or her head while
reading, or by using special glasses called
Frenzel glasses.

Treatment depends on the diagnosis. Dr.
Hamid states that positional dizziness is
treated with home-based vestibular
exercises and, in some cases,
medications. BPPV (benign paroxysmal
positional vertigo) is treated with the
Semont maneuver or Cawthorne
exercises. Meniere's disease is often
treated with salt restriction, water pills,
labyrinthine sedatives, or surgery in
incapacitating cases. Vestibular
neuronitis is also treated with
medications and rehabilitation. Brain-
related dizziness is more difficult to
treat; the choice of treatment depends
on the specific cause.

See Hamid, M., "Chronic Dizziness:
Vestibular Evaluation and
Rehabilitation," Cleveland Clinics Journal
of Medicine, July-August 1994, pages
247-249. 

BENIGN PAROXYSMAL
POSITIONAL NYSTAGMUS
(BPPV)  BPPV is a syndrome of
recurring vertigo, nystagmus, and nausea
that is usually triggered by certain head
positions. The nystagmus is often vertical
and rotatory. (You can't see this in
yourself.) The exact causes are not
known, but Dr. Ronald Tusa, of the
University of Miami Ear Institute, says
that there are two hypotheses. One, the
cupulolithiasis theory, says that debris
sticks to the cupula of a semicircular ear
canal. The other, the canalithiasis theory,
holds that debris floats into one of the
semicircular canals and disturbs its
cupula.

Dr. Tusa reviews three basic treatments:
the Brandt-Daroff exercises; the Semont
maneuver, which assumes cupulolithiasis
as the cause, and the Epley maneuver,
designed to correct canalithiasis. The
Brandt-Daroff exercises must be
performed many times a day or daily,
whereas the Semont and Epley
maneuvers involve only a single 10-15
minute session in a physician's office.
After one treatment with the Semont
maneuver, 70 percent of 30 patients
became symptom-free; 20 percent
reported at least a 70 percent
improvement, and 10 percent had less
than 70 percent improvement. The Epley
maneuver (one treatment) provided
complete relief in 57 percent of 30
patients; 33 percent improved by at least
70 percent, and 10 percent improved less
than 70 percent.

Both the Semont and Epley maneuvers
were found to be effective. If one
maneuver fails to completely relieve the
symptoms, the other can be tried, or the
same maneuver can be repeated.
Patients usually become initially more
dizzy during the maneuvers, are placed
in a cervical collar, told to avoid
bending, and advised to sleep only in a
sitting position during the 48 hours after
treatment.

See "Treating Benign Positional Vertigo
in the Office," Emergency Medicine, Feb.
15, 1994, pages 96-102.

MORE ON DIZZINESS  Dr. Kurt
Kroenke, Bethesda, Maryland, recently
wrote a general review article on
dizziness. He stated that 90 percent of
vertigo episodes resulted from a
peripheral (usually ear-related) cause.
These episodes are usually either BPPV,
vestibular neuronitis or labyrinthitis, or
Meniere's disease. When dizziness occurs
before a feeling of faintness, Dr.
Kroenke said, it is usually not caused by
a serious problem with heart rhythm
(although this must be confirmed) but is
more commonly caused by medications
or blood pressure problems. Equilibrium
problems are often observed in elderly
people with prior strokes, nerve
problems, arthritis, or Parkinson's
disease.

Dr. Kroenke goes on to state that one-
third of the people with initial dizziness
will recover in two weeks, and more than
50 percent will improve in the next 12
months. Dizziness seldom represents a
life-threatening disorder. In one study,
only 1 of 100 patients with a chief
complaint of dizziness died within 12
months, and this death was
unrelated to dizziness.

People with chronic vestibular problems
usually have the disease in only one ear,
and the dizziness may slowly abate as
the opposite ear compensates. Some
people with chronic dizziness adjust to
their disorder and develop coping
mechanisms, just like people with other
chronic disorders.

See Kroenke, Kurt, "9 Questions on
Evaluating the Dizzy Patient," Hudson
Monitor, January 1994, pages 43-46.

HEAD TRAUMA CAN CAUSE A
PERILYMPH FISTULA  Vertigo or
balance problems can occur in people
after head trauma (not necessarily with
loss of consciousness) and may produce
a perilymph fistula from the inner ear
through the middle ear. With time, the
fistula can heal on its own. If it does not
heal, or if there is hearing loss, surgery
may be necessary; a fistula is highly
curable. See Lehrer, Joel, et al.,
"Perilymphatic Fistula - A Definitive and
Curable Cause of Vertigo Following
Head Trauma," Western Journal of
Medicine, Vol. 141, No. 1, July 19, 1984,
pages 57-60. [Author's note: This article
was kindly submitted to me by Dr. Lehrer
to emphasize that perilymph fistulas can
be treated with surgery when appropriate
and necessary.]

A VARIANT OF BPPV  Dr. Robert
Baloh and his colleagues reported in a
recent article that 13 patients had a
previously unrecognized, direction-
changing, horizontal, positional
nystagmus. Normally BPPV is linked to a
torsional, vertical nystagmus that fatigues
with repeated positioning. Dr. Baloh, et
al., believe that this new syndrome is a
variant of BPPV and represents debris in
one of the horizontal canals of the inner
ear. Positional exercises and maneuvers
have not, so far, been found to
significantly help the symptoms of this
variant of BPPV. See Baloh, R.,
Jacobson, K., and Honrubia, V.,
"Horizontal Semicircular Canal Variant
of Benign Positional Vertigo," Neurology,
Vol. 43, Dec. 1993, pages 2542-2549.

ACOUSTIC NEUROMAS  Acoustic
neuromas are benign tumors that arise in
the vestibular nerve; about 2,000 to 3,000
new cases occur in the U.S. each year.
The most common initial symptoms are
one-sided hearing loss (93 percent),
tinnitus (61 percent), and imbalance (36
percent). If this tumor is found, the
treatment is dependent on the size of the
tumor, the hearing loss, and the age and
health of the patient. Generally surgery
is recommended; techniques are used to
try to prevent further hearing loss. See
Leonetti, J.P., "The Diagnosis and
Management of Acoustic Neuromas,"
Chicago Medicine, April 21, 1994, pages
27-32.

Below are summaries of articles appearing
in recent consumer publications:

DO YOU FEEL DIZZY?  If you're on
a ship's deck, you can avoid seasickness
by training your eyes to look out on the
horizon; this way your eyes, inner ears,
and legs tell your brain that you're
swaying.



















However, once you go below the deck,
you can become very sick because your
brain is receiving conflicting sensory
information. According to an article in
American Health, most people with
seasickness quickly recover when they're
on solid ground. However, people with
balance disorders can have continuing
problems for months or years.

The human balance system is usually
adaptable, as professional skaters who
do multiple spins know very well. If a
skater stays off the ice for a few weeks,
the first time the skater spins, he or she
will be nauseated and may even throw
up. Skaters must spin over and over to
suppress the tremendous sensation of
vertigo.

The article also describes some of the
pros and cons of surgery and suggests
that surgery be chosen only if other
treatments have not worked. In some
cases, patients may be incorrectly
diagnosed with a disorder for which
surgery may be helpful, but in reality
they may have a disorder that is best
helped by exercises, maneuvers, or
medications.

The article also briefly mentions VEDA.
See Conway, Claire, "Do You Feel
Dizzy?" American Health, Dec. 1993,
pages 64-67.

WHAT'S MAKING YOU DIZZY? 
Every year more than 5 million people
go to doctors with complaints of
dizziness. An article in Your Health
states that some of the most common
causes include BPPV, Meniere's disease,
and seasickness. The article describes
posturography tests, which can evaluate
the components of balance, such as the
inner ears, eyes, muscles, and joints. See
"What's Making You Dizzy?" Your
Health, March 8, 1994, page 53.

DIZZY WITH CONCENTRATION
PROBLEMS?  A recent Family Circle
article discusses some basic ear anatomy
as it relates to vertigo and reviews some
common causes. Two of VEDA's
medical and scientific advisors, Cherri
Roskie, R.N., of Portland, Oregon, and
Neil T. Shepard, Ph.D., of Ann Arbor,
Michigan, are quoted, as are several
other experts and patients. VEDA is
named as a source of information.

The article also discusses vestibular
rehabilitation exercises; it says that about
80 percent of patients with vertigo
related to a vestibular disorder have
significant improvement with these
exercises and that one-third recover
completely. See Eberlein, Tamara,
"Tired? Dizzy? Can't Concentrate?"
Family Circle, pages 160-162.

SILENCING THE NOISES  An
article in Health starts out with the
thought that all tinnitus patients would
love to "suffer in silence." Hearing
specialists at the Oregon Health Sciences
University in Portland, Oregon, have
found that the drug Xanax can
effectively help tinnitus. This discovery
may be useful to some of the one
American in every six who suffer from
tinnitus. Although not a cure, the drug
was found to reduce suffering from
tinnitus by 40 percent or more in three-
quarters of the patients tested. However,
the drug has risks and can be habit-
forming. See "At Last, a Silence Pill,"
Health, Nov./Dec. 1993, pages 30-32.  



NEWS BRIEFS

IN THE NEWS  Gail Steslow, a
VEDA member and support group
leader, was featured recently in an
article in the Schenectady (New York)
Daily Gazette. The article focused on Ms.
Steslow's experiences with Meniere's
disease since 1980, when her symptoms
began. Her treatments have included
shunt surgery as well as inner ear
perfusion with streptomycin and, later,
gentamicin. Though the disease has put
new limits on her life, she enjoys
gardening, the article said. At the urging
of her minister, she started a support
group three years ago, and the group
meets monthly at her home. "What we
find with Meniere's is that what helps
one person doesn't always help another,"
she told the Gazette. Ms. Steslow said
the article "generated quite a few calls.
I've also had people stop me in stores
and talk to me. They all seem so happy
to have someone to talk to, for even just
a few minutes, who understands what
they are going through."


















YOUR BODY FROM HAIR TO
HEEL  Curious about how the brain
works? Wonder what goes on in your
liver? Susan L. Engel-Arieli, M.D., has
written a book to explain these things
and much more. How Your Body Works
is an easy-to-read, lavishly illustrated
overview of such things as how your
ticker ticks, how your skin protects you,
how your lungs filter air, and what's
behind allergies, diabetes, and cancer,
and many other disorders. Chapter 3, on
the ear, includes information about the
vestibular system and balance disorders.
Published by Ziff-Davis Press as part of
its "How It Works" series, the 175-page
paperback can be found in the
health/reference sections of bookstores
across the U.S. as well as in Canada and
the United Kingdom. The price in the
U.S. is $19.95. Dr. Engel-Arieli received
her medical degree from the University
of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical
School and has been active as a writer,
consultant, and medical director of
pharmaceutical research. She is a former
member of the VEDA board of directors
and writes "News and Reviews" for On
the Level.

FOLIO SUBMISSIONS  "Vestibular
Folio," which appears on pages 10 and
11, needs material from VEDA
members. Please send your original
writings, drawings, or other creative
expressions to "Vestibular Folio" in care
of VEDA for coming editions. Those
expressions may include creative
photographs. You may also use
photography as a medium to show work
such as sculpture or fabric art. Photos
should be high-quality, black-and-white
prints, not color prints, not slides, not
negatives, not Polaroids. We can re-size
photos to fit. Texts should be kept short.




















A support group is being formed in
Orange County, Calif. It's a satellite of
the balance disorders support group at
UCLA and is under the auspices of the
Victor Goodhill Ear Center, Division of
Head and Neck Surgery, UCLA School
of Medicine through a grant from the
National Institutes of Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders.
Meetings will include educational
presentations and self-help sessions. For
more information or to be put on the
mailing list, call Marjorie Harris at (310)
825-5131.

A T'ai Chi instructor spoke to the
Sacramento, Calif., group in October.
Her topic was "T'ai Chi: Meniere's
Meets Chinese Meditative Exercise Aid."
The group planned an informal
discussion for November.

A medical news reporter interviewed
members of the St. Louis, Mo., group in
September. He was working on a TV
news story on assistive listening devices.
In October, a guest speaker addressed
the group on "The Spiritual Aspects of
Suffering."

During its first year, the membership of
Redwood City, Calif., group has grown
from 3 to 100, according to the
September 1994 edition of the group's
newsletter, In Balance. Group members
held a potluck in September to discuss
structural problems related to the rapid
growth. 

Guest speakers at recent meetings of the
Nashville, Tenn., group included an
audiologist and a social worker. The
August issue of the group's newsletter
featured an article on how meditation
may help people with vestibular
disorders.

Guest speakers this fall at meetings of
the Royal Oak, Mich., group included an
audiologist, a neuro-otologist, and the
director of a balance lab.


5,000 MEMBERS 
VEDA membership rose to a new high
on Sept. 20. Martha Hensal, from
Norton, Ohio, whose membership
pushed the total to 5,000, was awarded a
free VEDA T-shirt in honor of the
occasion.
 
NOMINATIONS
Nominations for seats on the 1995-97
VEDA board of directors will be
accepted in January and February. If you
or someone you admire would like to
run for election to the VEDA board for
a two-year term starting in June 1995,
please write to VEDA or call us and
request a nomination form or forms.




HANK
YOU



We thank all of the following for their
contributions to VEDA through Sept. 28,
1994: 

Associates ($100 to $499): Martin Gizzi M.D., Ph.D.,
New Jersey; Lawrence Mayer, New Jersey; Mr. & Mrs.
Domenick Celentano, New Jersey; Kathryn & John Nudo,
Illinois; Kurt Pfaff, Virginia; Fred Burnstead, Washington;
John Routh Jr., Connecticut; Eva Dimitrov M.D., Florida;
Ruth Abbett, New York; Donald P. Tormey D.D.S.,
California; Shirley Zahrn, South Carolina; Helen MacDonald,
Iowa; Richard Krause, Oregon; Edwin Gale, Texas; North
Broward Neurological Institute, Florida; Isaac Frishman,
Maryland; Mary Thomason, Idaho; Naomi Lederer, New
York; Edwin Gale, Texas; Carl Lund, Illinois; Harold Feld,
New York; Edwin Martin, Florida; Carol Dunlap, Maryland;
Michael D. Kaplan, New York.
 
Contributors ($10 to $99): ALABAMA: Lisa Santer,
Helen Kreisch, Larry Sampson, Mary Folmar, Lewis
Ellenburg, Frances Frost, Judy Nation, Helen Dykes.
ALASKA: Barbara Kolberg, Eleanor Tyler, Karil Ann Miller,
Nancy Stivers, Patience Campbell. ARIZONA: Mildred
Kennedy, Mary Ann Zitta, Joan Hafter, Jerry Eastridge,
Norma Raya, Marjorie Rolfe, Diana Kruglick. ARKANSAS:
Gina Skelton, Ralph Palmer, Nancy Summers, Billie Reynolds,
William Owings.

CALIFORNIA: Karolyn Zebarth, Vicki Reeder, Charles
Stockley, Elizabeth Harris, Mary B. Miller, Michael Locke,
Alice Werbel, Coleman Posard, Mary Chandler, Iris Braschuk,
Phyllis Halladay, Dorothea Bechtelheimer, Peter Mackerness,
Kathryn Dermant, Derrick Nylander, Lois Ramos, Rachel
Frese, Monique Harriton, Vincent Gelezunas, Ingrid Ebstein,
Mildred Featherstone, Priscilla Krinsky, Eleanor Fletcher,
Janet Mooers, Andrew Mirisch, Dr. & Mrs. Robert Logan,
Stephen Glucoft, Mrs. Winifred McLaughlin, Mr. & Mrs.
Robert Sachs, James Sandweiss, Beth Sibley, Jacqueline Cursi,
C.J. Ziady, Shane Gregory, Ann Ward, Mrs. Geraldine White,
Myron Roth, Sue Krebs, Fred Meinzen, Fred Weiner D.D.S.,
Elizabeth Larsen, Larry Krause, John Pino, Diane Graybehl,
Johanna Carmassi, Margaret Middleton, Martha De Barros,
Vivian Gatzert, Glen Kailey, Larry Strom, Michael Ross, John
Fitzgerald, Margery Derrick, Ann Ulrich, Marjorie Gentner,
Irving Abrams, Barbara Shumaker, Arturita Tolentino,
Douglas Atkins, Edward Guill, Josephine Tarver, Eugenia
Culbertson, Sylvia Strum, Gene Anderson, Mary Bushnell,
Marguerite Brinegar, Mary B. Miller, Meniere's Support
Group of Sacramento, James Dale, Nancy Bischoff, Helen
Hansen, Nessie Strudley, Deem Rahall, Reta Tyree, Darrell
O'Briant, Carol Yeager, Patricia Schlabes, Eva G. Neel, Sonia
Kirk, Dr. A.D. Adins, Irene Althaus, Fred Austin, Joan Kraus.
 
COLORADO: Phyllis Pappu, Claude Selitrennikoff, Thomas
Bohlinger, Bernard Shahan, Janice Gilland, Kim Johnston,
Lois Jensen, Verla Jamison, Paul & Myrna Sunberg, Martha
Nye. CONNECTICUT: M. Roccapriore, Frank McDonnell,
Ruth Tryon, Pam Langer, Beatrice Horowitz, Bill Murphy,
Alan Vogel, Lisa Knapp, Harry Whipple, Barbara & Hal
Levine, Anne Altern, Harold Friedman, Denise Kateley, John
Kveton M.D., Gerald Labriola M.D., Pamela Post, Yasmine
Cronin, Donald Valerie Sr., Mrs. Richard Reilly, Rena Miller,
William Petit Jr. M.D., Ruth Watt, Mary Dargan.
DELAWARE: Bernardine Lunski, Doris Welch, Phyllis Lord.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Albert Francis Jr.
 
FLORIDA: Joyce Demers, Madeline Hendon, Jack
Rubenstein, Jennifer Low, Marian Kline, Gladys Brancaccio,
Gerda Wassermann, Henry Getzoff, Mary King, H.A. Poulin,
Lucille Anderson, Ron & Barbara Elkman, John Viking,
Anita Feagles, Barbara Drew, Tess Cole, Donna Clark, Daryl
Chapin, Nancy Nussbaum, C. Joel Veal Jr., Norman
Ahlswede, Dorothy Robinson, Norman & Eunice Foote,
Pamela Lipofsky, Julianne Bennett, Alfonso Vaccarello,
Charles McCain, Carlton Jones, Elmer Swanson, Hannah
Polansky, Mary Jo Murray, Louise Essrig, Patricia Kennedy,
Peg Kunz, Lillian Hillman, Bethany Wansor, Jessie Markham,
Alden Gordon Finley, Florence Lillicrapp, Diane Shell,
Catherine Nixon.

GEORGIA: Patti Hallowell, Barbara Gatens CCC-A,
Richardine Freeman, William Laney, Katherine Gaines, Mary
Castiglioni, Reba Smithline, Francess Wilson, Sarah Rondeau,
Annette Hatcher, Donald Loudermilk, Louise Williams,
Gilbert Taylor, James McCloskey. IDAHO: L.S. Rambo,
Patricia Roberts. ILLINOIS: Chester Moculeski, Frances
Kierczynski, Ruth Fullerton, Thomas Casey, Gertrude
Zaransky, Ron Wielage, Frances Randall, Elsie Ryan, Rita
Eckhart, J. Craig Dutton, Arlene Stielow, Henrietta Schuhart,
Adrienne Cosenza, Kathryn Jackson, Marilyn Beck, Pauline
Clancy, Sr. Ann Gill, Darleen Runge, Margaret Berzin, Ted
Graham, Anne Wight, Mildred Walter, Ida Kulach, Donna
Novack, Mary Querio, Micromedical Technologies, John
Blankenburg, Mary Ellen Bell, Charles Chopard, Mary Quade,
Richard Wasser, Catherine Beckner, William Goebel, Mary
Jadrich, W.T. Peterson, Donna Adams, Mary Speiden.

INDIANA: Joanne Jones, Curtis Nold, James Young, Jayne
Meth, G.K. Bhagavan, Linda Newman. IOWA: Mildred Cox,
Kathryn Coyle, Kathleen Lensch, Virginia Ryan, Howard
Morris, Jill Avery. KANSAS: Reva Frazee, Thomas Shutt,
Paul White, John Webb, John Peterson, John Voss, Betty
Gearhart, Beverly Womochil. KENTUCKY: Shirley Hallmark,
June Roberts, Edylou Glenn. LOUISIANA: Annemarie
Maher, Audrick Juneau, Kathy Chauvin. MAINE: Allene
White, Bethel Arbuckle, Jean Robillard. 
 
MARYLAND: Laura Russ, Brenda Hall, Celia Weinstein,
Ermene Lilly, Mary Zamary R.N., Marge Attenburger, Stanley
Oliver, Earl Lindveit, Louisa Magzanian, Cornelia Ives,
Lavern Riggs, Jaclyn Portnoy. MASSACHUSETTS: Digital
Equipment Corporation, Marilyn De Filippis, Frances
Clohecy, Joan Chaplick, Natalie Tompkins, Patricia Bates,
Kathy Longo, Mary Lelievre, Mary Slack, Mary Kendrick,
Rev. James Malley S.J., Edward Horton, Vicky Slavin, Angela
Crofford-Bik, Eunice Good, Bruno Carmen, Theresa Robbins,
Martha Plotkin, Elizabeth Ford, Marion Coughlin, Jean
Miller, Mr. & Mrs. Rick Rowan, Susan Bayard, Walter
Kovaleski, Ann Drew, Jacob Lichman, Irma Aponte, Anne &
John Kendrick, Bernice Hicks, Rose Mandill, Pat Papagui,
Gretchen Dunoyer, Wendy Marshall, Barbara Pasquale, Susie
Jenkins, Natalie Tompkins, Darrell Daybre, Kay Hurley,
Beulah Morrison, Michael Impastato, Philip Levin.
 
MICHIGAN: Sara Essex, Carolyn Bush, June Evans, Paul
Olson, Laurie Racey, Steven Eisenberg, Carole Reynolds,
Joseph Bulone, Dennis Bojrab M.D., June Gravitt, Roger
Roley, Patricia LaCasse, Patricia Klein, Marie Key, Judi Ellis,
Katherine Kerr, Rebecca Szabo, Jack Wunderlich, Doreen
Wise-Friedenberg. MINNESOTA: Patricia Jensen, Peter
Rech, Linda Fort, Frank Moon, Charles A. Bobertz, Stella
Fritsch, Angela Kaiser, Walter Voss, Mary Spinler, Endelena
Goeb.
 
MISSISSIPPI: B. Frank Vogel M.D.; Edith Welch, Clifford
Comfort. MISSOURI: Frances Lewis, J. Edward Kendrick
D.D.S., Kathy Black, Olive Duffy, Angela Comstock.
MONTANA: James Hauwiller, Donna Sims, Sherry Marsillo,
Bette Albright, Jennifer Laing. NEBRASKA: Duane Wolske,
Jack Silk. NEVADA: John Perkowski, Dagmar Loe, Pauline
Berliner. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Joi Undiano, Louise Richard,
Rose Matarazzo, Ruth Edwards.

NEW JERSEY: Jill Spasser, Teresa Smyth, Kenneth Davis,
Alexander Hochheiser D.M.D., Carol Vandegrift, Rita Price,
Dr. Marc Picchierri, Lisa Wagner, Barbara Bevel, Mary
Pomanowski, Beatrice Zimmerman, David Hildreth, Kenneth
Marks, Michele Degan, Patrice McDermott, Albert Wolfe,
Katharine McGuire, Mr. & Mrs. Philip Kaufman, Beulah
Cruikshank, Dawn Fabricatore, Henry Mikulewicz, Frank
Dolcemascolo, Rosa Gavasci, Sandra Fearns, Julio Gonzalvez,
Gladys Paul, Janet Kwiatkoski, Emma Trombley, Marlene
Massrie, Harry Bott, Kathy Feichtl, Ellen Cohen, Viola Ferris,
Charlene Streko, Frank Spinella, Adele Miller, Joann Bruno,
Gail Flynn, Anne Condon, Roxana Melnitschenko, Dorothy
Lorch, Christopher Kane, Palma Davison. NEW MEXICO:
Wendy Babcock PT, Timothy Dippold, Frances Storey,
Barbara Bailey, Kit Hagen Stein.

NEW YORK: Joan Tarr, Mary Allegra, George Mahoney,
Beatrice Wolfus, Shirley Weiss, Doreit Bialer, Lydia Chang,
Linda McKenna, Joseph Haydayz, John Thos & Catherine
Grubel, Serkiz Esmez, Sara Lucks, Dorothy Rabkin, Gay
Kinzer, Rita Demers, Doris Engel, Marcella Schifrin, Sara &
Abraham Reback, Beverly Rauch, Fanny Acuna, Andrea
Butje, Arthur Golann, Leslie Zamft, Jill Short, Murray
Blander, Ronald Jablonski, Kathleen Burgess, Joseph
Giuliano, Dorisann Rinaldo R.N., Daniel Caccavo, Toni Sergi,
H. Peter Allen, Abreena Tlumak, Dorothy Launer, Hilda
Delson, Patricia Breglio, Mary McCarthy, Jeffrey Fuchs,
Donald Witt, Ernest Puce, Baltfriet Verderber, Henry
Hoecker, Roscha Folger, Naomi Utevsky, Alene Gurin, Layle
Silbert, Mary Dornheim, Rosalie Fanning, Gordon Magill
M.D., Kenneth Davis Jr., Ernest Caruso, Dana Oviatt, Muriel
Opell, Barbara LaVenture, Gerald Levine, Dagoberto
Molerio, Glen Cuccinello, Caroline Baldo Hawk, Margaret
Arena, Virginia Bersohn, Donald Gregg, Paul Heide, Sylvia
Edelstein, Zelda Heffer, Raymond McGowan, Irene Arndt,
Patricia Kross, Phyllis Marcus, Magnus Bassey, Lewis French,
Betty Stott, Stella Auricchio, Robert Marsin, Sylvia Heim,
John DiBiase, Peter Maglaras, Leonard Bemel, John Kelleher,
Mary Torrales, Mary Whitworth, Concetta Kudirka, Mildred
Blank, George Holzmann, Mary Allegra, Mary Corrado, C.A.
Sutton, Malinda Myers, Monte Florman, Roseann Crabb,
Carola Michael, P.E. Hammerschlag M.D., Grace Jackson,
Mimi Radin, Mary Dowd, Sydel Chernoff, Catherine Nicolas,
Ruth Strasenburgh, Jane Schlick, Carol Venanzi, Jerome
Court, Istvan Deak, David Hirsch, Louis Chiavetta, Nancy
Doyle, Armando Girillo, Mary Braverman, Marjorie
Goldstene, Barbara Strongin, Janis Rosenbaum, Dian
Yanessa, Carol Sefcik.

NORTH CAROLINA: C. Joan Adams, Lisa Jacobs, Anne
Freeze, Mary Aselin, Elizabeth Keating, Susan Clayton
Anderson, Harriet Hinson, Jesse Barnes, William Smith Jr.,
Robert Kirkpatrick, Dorothy Allen, Dianne Kolb. NORTH
DAKOTA:  Vicki Martinson, Avis Busse, Esther Kysar.
OHIO: Eileen Annest, John Brush, Roseann Stube, Lisa
Billings, Samuel Varghese M.D., Matilda Courey, Laura
Craven, Chris Wasson, Toni Gendler, Monica Kandrac, Marie
Christopher, Carol Leslie, Joseph Paton, Frances Marteney,
Janet Kadunc, June Adams, Elizabeth Rayner, Willis Wolf,
Helen Engdahl, Dan Hamilton, Irwin Ungar, Thornton Lake,
Ann Graham, Elaine & Robert Stein, Reta Bisesi, Dorothy
Rice, Wilfred Schroeder, Evelyn Newbauer. OKLAHOMA:
Mildred Hughes, Leann Foraker, Anne Carmack, Horace
Calvert. 

OREGON: Charlotte Shupert, Ann Mackintosh, Annelia
Knutson, Elizabeth Shane, Louise Pollard, Rick Braithwaite,
Wendell Cook, Bette Richards, Sandra Merrick, Ida Barbeau,
Richard Syring, Dorothea Radel, R. Ken Ellison, Tom
Hashizume, Wilfred & Verna Willer, Etta Brown, Eugene
Kirby, Lisa Haven, Darlene Griser, Marion Byron, Virginia
Gushwa, Alice Tvetan, M. Norine Wagner, Robert Stokes,
Sylvia McKeehan, Maurice McCann, Lois Weathers, Carol
Sams, Idella Allen, Nancy Gibbons, Debra Connors,

PENNSYLVANIA: Deborah Simon, Paul Moretti, Mario
Dentino, Harley Foelker, Joan Strobel, Jeff Zimmerman,
Linda Dunmire, Leonid Kotlyar, Alverta Wenrick, Julie
Nieminski, Fredric Pement, Irwin Gross, Mary Caruso,
Dorothy Yarnell, Michael Kichi, Gertrude Oschwald,
Katherine Zollars, Susan Cox, Donna Arnold, Michaelene
Ross, Adriana Salini, Jacqueline Brookman, Bridget Quinn,
Hilda Fleiner, Don Leisey, National Organization for Hearing
Research, Doris Africa. RHODE ISLAND: Jane Hall,
Edward Carosi, Armand Ferland. SOUTH DAKOTA:
Dolores Shanks. TENNESSEE: F.M. Kofmehl, Janet Clark,
Debbie Pigna, Meredith Leslie, James Littrell Jr.

TEXAS: Mary Engler, Helen Barr, Susan Paul, Jane Durbin,
Esther Seiler, L.J. Keating, Carter Beghtol, George Parker,
Gale Robertson, Barbara Case, Jean Banks, Vivien Buckner,
Jim Maxwell, Loyd Powell Jr., Susan Hendricson, Marion
Worsham, Susan Frensley, Bessie Pitt, Susan Krus, David F.
Cason, Shirley McIntyre, Patsy Faubion. UTAH: Jennifer
Thurston. VERMONT: Edward McGarghan.

VIRGINIA: Kaye Shubert, Kathryn Spatz, Virginia Rader,
Richard Queisser, Carrington Dunlap, Carl Freeman,
Margaret Douglas, J. Lynn Cornwell Jr., Linda J. Allen,
Robert Golden, Cynthia Hartwell, Patricia Wexelblat, Barbara
Haughwout, Debbie Noble, Abdul Ghafoor, Rebecca Stone,
Louis Mauro, Joanne Zins, Lucie Moorman, Ann Humphries,
Dwight Waldo, Margaret Riley, Mary Melegari, Tony
Levinson, Benjamin Brockenbaugh, Peggy Putt Barton, J.C.
Haskins, Margaret Paul, June Battaile, Lauren Berger, Jacklyn
Fleenor.

WASHINGTON: Mercedes Swanson, John & Sue Parks,
Barbara Thompson, Phillip Friend, Robert McFarland, Jill
Smith, Art Edburg, Sharon Covey, Betty Donnerberg, Robert
Jones, Steve Rees, Traci Lamb-Kwon, Sara Pease, Alma
Ellefson, Ed Johnson, Louise Downs, Burma Williams, Betty
Novak, Eleanore McGee, Melanie Humfleet, Veronica
Buffington, Alfred Muller, Richard Lundquist, Christine
Martin, William Kubicz Jr., Edmund Parker, T. Roger
Billeter, Foster Bucher.

WEST VIRGINIA: George Bennett, Dr. Ruth Gross.
WISCONSIN: John Heighway M.D., Ray Rosenmerkel,
Russell Oldenburg, Shirley Ruediger, Sandra Carlson, Doris
Wyatt, Martha Recknagel, Dianne Gray, Orville Hoffman,
Steven Millen M.D., Sandra Carlson. WYOMING: Raymond
DeVries Sr.

AUSTRALIA: Ester Copley. CANADA: Anne Marie
McDonald, Marcia Theriault, David Cameron, Rosemary
Derbecker, Ruth Roth, Edith Gregory, Riva Guttman,
Giovanni DiGirolamo, Friends of Bert McAlister.
NETHERLANDS: Judy Landis. SOUTH AFRICA: Margot
Burton.


DISCLAIMER

The information in this newsletter is not
intended as a substitute for professional
health care. VEDA does not advocate
any particular course of treatment for
any particular disorder. The opinions
expressed in articles in On the Level are
those of the authors and not necessarily
those of On the Level, or the VEDA
medical and scientific advisors, or the
VEDA board of directors.


LEGAL HELP

Dennis Robben, a VEDA member,
wrote to On the Level asking that we
mention his attorney, Robert A.
Friedman. "This attorney has a better
than 85 percent success rate on Social
Security claims," he wrote. "He has
helped me, and he has helped several
people in my support group." In a
separate letter, Mr. Friedman noted that
he handled Social Security and Veterans
Affairs claims only for people in the
Puget Sound area. Mr. Friedman's
address is 3410 Broadway, Everett,
Wash. 98201. His phone number is (206)
252-5551.


BOOK REVIEW

A Scientific Watergate -- Dyslexia
By Harold N. Levinson, M.D.
(Stonebridge, $24.95)

If she doesn't need new glasses and she
doesn't have brain damage, why can't
Johanna read? Dr. Levinson's answer,
which he first gave 21 years ago and has
been defending since, is that many cases
of so-called dyslexia are actually cases of
vestibular damage. The vestibular
problems cause visual tracking problems
and other inner-ear signs, he says, such
as poor coordination and balance,
trouble with sense of direction, poor
concentration, and motion sickness. 

Dr. Levinson claims to have cured none
of these "dyslexic" patients; rather, he
says, he has helped 25 percent
significantly, 25 percent moderately, 25
percent mildly, and 25 percent not at all.
He treats them with meclizine and other
drugs, with eye exercises, vestibular
therapy, and other means familiar to
VEDA members. 

His unorthodox writing style and volleys
of shot and shell against his detractors
may make some readers think he's gone
over the edge rather than pushing it
forward. It's also possible that he's onto
something big. 