Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnatomyFunctionDisordersTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Anatomy
Function
Disorders
Treatment
The vestibular nerve (the eighth cranial nerve) is essential for regulating balance. Sensory structures in your inner ears detect head and body movement.The vestibular nerve carries that information from your ears to your brain. The brain combines it with sensory messages from the body-wide vestibular system to maintain your equilibrium, steadiness, and coordination.
Health conditions affecting the vestibular nerve or the inner ear cause loss of balance and falls, hearing loss, and symptoms like uncontrollable eye movements, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, and headaches.
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The vestibular nerve is one of the 12 cranial nerves originating in the brain. The cranial nerves are responsible for the senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and balance. They also control the muscles of the face and mouth. One of the cranial nerves carries sensory and muscle information between the brain and the gut.
The vestibular nerve begins in the brainstem (at the base of your brain above your neck) as the vestibulocochlear nerve. This nerve leaves the brainstem and travels to each ear, going through a canal in thetemporal bone.
The vestibular nerve connects to other organs in the inner ear (otolith organs and semicircular canals). These organs detect movement and send the sensory information through vestibular ganglions (nerve bundles in a canal called the internal auditory meatus) to the vestibular nerve.
The vestibular nerve carries the information back to the brain’scerebellum, which is the part of the brain controlling balance, movement, and coordination.
Anatomical Variations
Anatomical variations in the vestibular nerve or the inner ear structures that communicate with the nerve are uncommon. However, they can occur due to the following conditions:
The vestibular nerve is essential for balance and stabilizing eye movement. While the inner ear is a crucial part of the vestibular system, your brain depends on other sensory information to support balance.
As your brain receives messages from the vestibular nerve, it processes the information together with sensory data from the rest of the vestibular system, which includes your eyes, somatosensory system (touch), and sensors detecting muscle and joint movement.
The brain combines all the information and calculates head and body movement. Then it sends instructions to your muscles, joints, and eyes to ensure you maintain balance as you move.
Without a fully functioning vestibular system, your sense of balance is disrupted. For example, you might fall if you bent over to pick up an item or when making twisting movements in athletics.
Sensory Function
The vestibular nerve picks up a range of sensory information from the otolith organs and semicircular canals in the inner ear.
Otolithorgans
The hair cells are embedded in a gel-like substance containing small calcium carbonate crystals that hold the cells steady. When your head moves, the fluid in the sacs also moves, stimulating the hair cells. Then, they send the information through the vestibular nerve to your brain.
The saccule detects vertical head movement (up and down), while the utricle picks up horizontal movement (side to side). They also detect head tilting and forward and backward body movement.
Semi-circular canals
The semi-circular canals are three fluid-filled tubes that detect rotational movement. They pick up rotation when your body physically moves and when the movement occurs outside your body. For example, your body may rotate while in a car or riding a roller coaster.
Just like the saccule and utricle, fluid inside each canal moves in response to body motion. The fluid stimulates hair cells lining the canal, and the cells send the information through the vestibular nerve to your brain.
Motor Function
The vestibular nerve also coordinates two types of muscle movement (motor function):
Vestibular Nerve Disorders
Problems with the vestibular nerve or inner ear, called peripheral vestibular disorders, can cause serious challenges in your daily life. The most common symptoms includevertigo(the sensation that you or your surroundings are spinning),dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
Peripheral vestibular disorders include:
Treatment for conditions associated with the vestibular nerve focuses on symptom management and treating the underlying condition. Your provider may recommend:
Summary
The vestibular nerve is essential for maintaining balance. The nerve carries information about head and body movement from your inner ear to the brain. Your brain processes the vestibular nerve input along with sensory information from other body areas. Then, it uses that information to ensure you stay balanced while moving.
If the vestibular nerve is inflamed or damaged, or an inner ear condition affects the nerve, you can develop dizziness, vertigo (the sensation of spinning), nausea, and vomiting. Most vestibular nerve conditions are treatable. However, in rare cases, you could develop permanent nerve damage.
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