Medically reviewed by Dr. Rob Letizia, PT, DPT — owner, Spectrum Therapeutics of NJ. Last reviewed 2026-06-22.

Vestibular Neuritis & Labyrinthitis Treatment in Wayne, NJ

Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis are among the most treatable causes of sudden, constant dizziness — and among the most under-rehabbed. If the room spun violently for a few days and now, weeks later, you still feel "off," foggy, or unsteady, that lingering imbalance is your brain failing to fully compensate on its own. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) retrains it. At Spectrum Therapeutics of NJ in Wayne, Dr. Rob Letizia, PT, DPT builds a one-on-one VRT program to get your balance and confidence back.

What Is Vestibular Neuritis (and How Is Labyrinthitis Different)?

Vestibular neuritis is inflammation of the vestibular nerve — the nerve that carries balance signals from your inner ear to your brain — usually triggered by a viral infection. When that nerve is knocked offline on one side, your brain suddenly receives mismatched signals and the world spins. Labyrinthitis is the same process, but the inflammation also involves the cochlea, so it comes with hearing changes or ringing (tinnitus) alongside the vertigo. Both cause an acute attack of severe, constant vertigo, nausea, and imbalance that typically lasts several days.

How Is It Different from BPPV?

This distinction decides the treatment. BPPV causes brief spinning — seconds to a minute — triggered by moving your head (rolling over in bed, looking up), and it is fixed with a repositioning maneuver like the Epley. Vestibular neuritis causes constant vertigo that is present even when you hold still, lasts days, and does not respond to repositioning — it needs vestibular rehabilitation to retrain the balance system. Many people are simply told they "have vertigo" without that distinction being made, and end up doing the wrong exercises. If your spells are brief and position-triggered, start with our vertigo & BPPV treatment page instead.

Why Doesn’t It Just Go Away on Its Own?

The acute spinning usually settles within a week as the worst inflammation calms. The problem is what is left behind: the affected ear often never fully recovers, so your brain has to learn to rely on the good ear, your vision, and your body’s position sense to stay balanced. This process — central compensation — finishes incompletely in many people, especially if they avoid head movement to dodge the dizziness. The result is weeks or months of residual fog, motion sensitivity, unsteadiness in busy places, and fatigue. VRT is what drives that compensation to completion.

How Does Vestibular Rehabilitation (VRT) Treat It?

VRT is an active, exercise-based program — not medication and not bed rest. At Spectrum Therapeutics, your program is built around three evidence-based elements:

• Gaze stabilization (VOR) exercises — retraining your eyes to stay locked on a target while your head moves, rebuilding the reflex the damaged nerve used to control. (See our gaze-stabilization exercise guide.)
• Habituation — controlled, graded exposure to the movements and environments that provoke your dizziness, so your brain learns to stop overreacting.
• Balance & gait retraining — progressively harder balance work so you are steady on uneven ground, in the dark, and in visually busy places like supermarkets.

Because care here is one-on-one with Dr. Letizia — never handed off to an aide — the exercises are dosed to your specific deficits and progressed as you improve.

How Long Does Recovery Take?

Most people feel meaningfully steadier within 4–6 weeks of consistent VRT, with many reaching their goals in 6–12 weeks depending on how long symptoms have lingered and how consistently the home program is done. Starting rehab earlier — and staying active rather than resting in a dark room — generally leads to faster, more complete recovery.

When Should You See a Doctor First?

Sudden vertigo can rarely signal something more serious, including a stroke. Seek emergency care if your vertigo comes with a severe headache, double vision, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, trouble walking out of proportion to the dizziness, or sudden new hearing loss. Once a physician has ruled those out and confirmed an inner-ear cause, vestibular rehabilitation is the evidence-based next step — and in New Jersey you can see a physical therapist directly, without a referral, under direct access.

Vestibular Neuritis Therapy in Wayne, NJ

Spectrum Therapeutics of NJ is a single-provider clinic in Wayne — every visit is with Dr. Rob Letizia, PT, DPT, who has built the practice around vestibular and balance care. If you are weeks out from an attack of vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis and still do not feel like yourself, a focused VRT program can change that.

Book a vestibular assessment — schedule online or call (973) 689-7123.