A Month of Vestibular Migraine: Symptom Characterization Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

This study investigated the frequency and intensity of vestibular migraine (VM) symptoms using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). This approach was intended to provide insights into the day-to-day experiences of individuals with VM, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of this condition.

Participants reported symptoms to an automated text system, rating their dizziness over the prior 24 h as none, mild, moderate, or severe. Definitive Dizzy Days (DDDs) were defined as days with moderate or severe dizziness. A student's independent group t-test was used to compare the number of DDDs between VM and probable VM subjects.

Sixty-six subjects were included, with an average of 29 days of pre-intervention data (SD = 1.4). The average number of days with no dizziness was 3.5 (SD = 6.5), mild dizziness was 9.1 (SD = 6.7), moderate dizziness was 11 (SD = 6.1), and severe dizziness was 5.4 (SD = 6.3). Out of the 66 patients, 52 were classified as VM and 14 as pVM. The average number of DDDs was not significantly different between VM (17.0, SD = 8.3) and pVM (15.3, SD = 10.0) patients, with a two-tailed p-value of 0.44.

With EMA, we found that the average subject with VM had some degree of dizziness almost every day, and more than 15 DDDs per month.

3 Laryngoscope, 135:293-298, 2025.