Vestibular migraine (VM) is a leading cause of recurrent vertigo, and many patients describe cognitive symptoms such as "brain fog," slowed thinking, and forgetfulness; however, the magnitude and consistency of objectively measured cognitive impairment in VM have not been clearly quantified....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Cognitive screening may be warranted in vestibular migraine patients, but findings are preliminary—await full publication and appraisal of pooled study quality before changing assessment protocols.
Quantifying the cognitive burden of vestibular migraine may prompt audiologists and vestibular specialists to incorporate cognitive screening into their evaluations of this patient population.
- 01Systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive impairment (brain fog, forgetfulness, slowed thinking) in vestibular migraine.
- 02Vestibular migraine involves dizziness-dominant migraine episodes, a condition frequently managed by audiologists and ENTs.
- 03Cognitive symptoms are increasingly recognized as part of the vestibular migraine profile beyond dizziness alone.
- 04Evidence pooled from PubMed-indexed studies to estimate prevalence and characterize cognitive deficits.
- 05Published in Frontiers in Neurology (2026).
Cognitive impairment (brain fog, slowed thinking, forgetfulness) is prevalent among patients with vestibular migraine.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42755571
- DOI
- 10.3389/fneur.2026.1818747.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Publication type
- meta_analysis
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Patients diagnosed with vestibular migraine
- Intervention
- Assessment of cognitive impairment prevalence and characteristics
Primary outcomes
Prevalence of cognitive impairment in vestibular migraine; Characteristics of cognitive deficits (brain fog, slowed thinking, forgetfulness)