About Australian Dizziness Clinics

Dedicated Vestibular Medicine Services Accessible Across Australia

Why Getting Answers for Dizziness Is So Hard

1 in 3 Australians will experience dizziness or a balance disorder in their lifetime — yet vestibular conditions remain among the most poorly understood and inadequately managed.

Why Is It So Hard to Get Answers?

The core problem is a broken referral pathway:

If your GP suspects BPPV, you may be sent to a vestibular physiotherapist. If it sounds like Ménière's disease, you're referred to an ENT Surgeon. If vestibular migraine is on the table, off you go to a neurologist.

But many patients have overlapping conditions that don't fit a single box. Only a few vestibular neurologists are trained to see the full picture — and they are mostly based in metropolitan teaching hospitals.

The Result

Multiple referrals, months of diagnostic delay, conflicting advice, and patients who feel unheard. Many GPs manage these patients without a clear pathway or specific training in vestibular medicine — not for lack of effort, but because that training has simply not been available.

Our Response

Australian Dizziness Clinics was founded to address this gap. We provide a unified, comprehensive assessment and management pathway under one clinical roof — bringing expert diagnostic clarity to a field that has long needed it.

Beyond patient care, Australian Dizziness Clinics is committed to raising the standard of vestibular medicine across Australia — through education, training, and mentorship. Our education programs range from foundational vestibular training for all clinicians to a structured mentorship pathway for GPs ready to establish their own dizziness clinic. If you are interested, find out more about how to become a vestibular physician.

What is a Vestibular Physician?

A vestibular physician is a medical doctor with advanced training in the diagnosis and management of dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, and motion sensitivity — conditions that arise from disorders of the vestibular system, which includes the inner ear and its connections to the brain.

What Conditions Do We Treat?

Vestibular physicians are trained to diagnose and manage the full spectrum of vestibular disorders, including:

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
Vestibular migraine
Ménière's disease
Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis
Bilateral vestibulopathy
Vestibular paroxysmia
Central vestibular disorders including cerebellar and brainstem causes (diagnosed and appropriately referred for subspecialty care)
Dizziness related to anxiety, cardiovascular conditions, polypharmacy, and postural blood pressure drop

This breadth matters because many patients present with overlapping diagnoses. A vestibular physician is trained to untangle that complexity — something no single subspecialty is equipped to do alone.

How We Diagnose Dizziness

Vestibular physicians use a combination of bedside clinical testing and specialised investigations to identify the root cause of dizziness. These include:

Comprehensive and Targeted History Taking — the most important tool in vestibular medicine; detailed history enables pattern recognition and guides the entire diagnostic process
Comprehensive Clinical Examination — gait and balance assessment, targeted neurological and cardiovascular assessment
Recorded Oculomotor Function Testing — interrogates the complex interaction between the inner ear, brainstem, and vestibulo-cerebellum
Video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) — assesses the vestibulo-ocular reflex to detect semicircular canal dysfunction
Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs) — tests otolith organ function (saccule and utricle)
Recorded Positional Testing — systematic evaluation of positional vertigo and nystagmus
Validated Symptom Scales — including the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale (VVAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire Short form (MSSQ-Short)

Where Does a Vestibular Physician Fit in the Care Pathway?

Think of vestibular medicine as the bridge between general practice and subspecialty care. When a GP is uncertain about the cause of a patient's dizziness, a vestibular physician provides the diagnostic clarity needed to direct appropriate management — without the patient needing to see multiple clinicians across different disciplines.

General Practitioner

Role: First point of contact; identifies dizziness as a presenting symptom

Challenge: Vestibular disorders are complex, cross multiple specialties, and are poorly represented in GP training. Clear referral pathways have historically been absent.

How we help: GPs can refer directly to us for comprehensive evaluation and receive a clear diagnosis, management plan, and coordinated follow-up.

Vestibular Physician

Role: Expert diagnosis, medical management, investigations, and care coordination

Expertise: Specifically trained to identify complex vestibular conditions and manage them

Scope: Manages the full spectrum of vestibular conditions; initiates treatment; coordinates with physiotherapy and other clinicians when needed

Neuro-otologist / ENT / Neurologist

Role: Subspecialty intervention for complex or surgical cases

When needed: Acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma), surgical intervention for Ménière's disease when medical treatment fails in a minority of cases, and further assessment of central neurological causes such as stroke, cerebellar ataxia, and Parkinson-plus disorders

How we help: We identify which patients genuinely need this level of care and refer with a clear clinical summary — reducing unnecessary subspecialty burden.

A Proven Model, New to Australia

Dedicated vestibular physician services have been established in the UK and across much of Europe for decades. In those health systems, a vestibular physician sits clearly between general practice and subspecialty care — reducing unnecessary referrals, improving diagnostic accuracy, and getting patients to the right treatment faster.

In Australia, this model was virtually absent until 2019, when Canberra Dizziness Clinic — the country's first vestibular physician clinic — opened its doors. Since then, the clinic has seen over 5,000 patients and now treats more than 720 new patients each year, demonstrating clear and sustained demand for this level of expert care.

Australian Dizziness Clinics is the next step — a national network built on this proven model, expanding access to dedicated vestibular medicine beyond Canberra and into Sydney, with further locations planned.

No referral is required. Patients can self-refer, and approximately one in five of our patients find us directly. We also welcome referrals from GPs, neurologists, ENT Surgeons, physiotherapists, audiologists, and Emergency Departments.

Our Clinic Locations

Dedicated vestibular medicine across Australia

Canberra Clinic

Location

Holder Consulting Suite
3 Holder Place, Holder ACT 2611

Contact

Phone: 02 6170 3351

Fax: 02 6170 3255

Email: reception@dizzinesscanberra.com

Hours

Monday to Friday
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Services

Comprehensive vestibular assessment
Vestibular function testing
Medical management of dizziness
Treatment for BPPV with particle repositioning techniques including Epley manoeuvre, barbecue manoeuvre, and others as required
On-site vestibular physiotherapist available

Sydney Clinic

Location

Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia

Contact

Phone: 02 6170 3351

Email: sydney@dizzinessaustralian.com

Hours

Monday to Friday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Services

Comprehensive vestibular assessment
Vestibular function testing
Medical management of dizziness
Treatment for BPPV with particle repositioning techniques including Epley manoeuvre, barbecue manoeuvre, and others as required

Our Mission & Values

Our Mission

To make dedicated vestibular medicine accessible to every Australian who needs it — delivering accurate diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and clear answers to patients who have often waited too long for both.

Diagnostic Clarity

We believe every patient deserves a clear diagnosis. Our systematic approach ensures nothing is missed and no patient leaves without answers.

Accessibility

Dedicated vestibular medicine should not be confined to major cities or require months of waiting. We are actively expanding across Australia.

Patient-Centred Care

Dizziness affects every aspect of a patient's life. We take time to understand each individual's history, impact, and goals before designing a treatment plan.

GP Partnership

We see GPs as essential partners. We communicate clearly, refer back promptly, and help GPs build confidence in managing vestibular patients in their own practice.

Education

We are committed to raising the standard of vestibular literacy across Australia — for patients, GPs, and other clinicians.

Evidence-Based Practice

Our clinical decisions are grounded in the latest research and international guidelines, including those from the Bárány Society (International Organisation for Vestibular Medicine).