Suggested Books
Our curated list of evidence-based books about balance and dizziness disorders and related issues.
Most titles are available for loan through public libraries. If your local library does not own a copy, ask for it to be sent from another library through interlibrary loan
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Dizziness and Vertigo: A Simple Guide to Figuring It Out | An ear surgeon with 30 years of experience distills his knowledge about vestibular disorders in this simple, 84-page guide written for the general public. | 2014 |
![]() | Dizziness: Why You Feel Dizzy and What Will Help You Feel Better | This short and practical guide explores different conditions that can cause dizziness, describes common types of dizziness and explains what people with dizziness can do to feel better. The authors are renowned doctors – the credibility of the information is unparalleled. An essential read for every dizzy person! | 2016 |
![]() | Disease-proof: The Remarkable Truth about What Makes Us Well | A leading specialist in preventive medicine outlines an evidence-based, user-friendly set of tools that helps us make simple behavioural changes that have a tremendous effect on our health and well-being. | 2013 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science | Looks at the the cognitive biases that lead to pseudoscience, the history of pseudoscience, the reasons for its wide acceptance, how it is endangering our society, how to recognize it, and how we might reduce its impact. | 2018 |
![]() | Homeopathy: The Undiluted Facts | A rational and scientific discussion of the biological, chemical and psychological questions that homeopathic treatment raises. | 2016 |
![]() | Chiropractic: Not All That It’s Cracked Up to Be | An evidence-based critique of the often less than responsible and sometimes dangerous claims and assumptions made by chiropractors. | 2020 |
![]() | The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud and Pseudoscience | An insightful examination and clarification of what science is and how it differs from pseudoscience. | 2019 |
![]() | Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine | An evidence-based examination of more than 30 of the most popular CAM treatments including acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, and herbal medicines. | 2008 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Balance: A Dizzying Journey Through the Science of Our Most Delicate Sense | Follow award-winning science and health writer Carol Svec through various facilities as she talks with leading scientists doing state-of-the-art balance research. Svec translates their most fascinating findings for the layperson in a way that is highly entertaining and accessible. Along the way she cites case studies of people whose lives are affected by balance dysfunction, explains how research is being applied to help them, and provides a glimpse at what potentially life-changing advances may be on the horizon. | 2017 |
![]() | Balance: In Search of the Lost Sense | A scientific, historical and practical exploration of how balance works. From simple motion sickness to astronauts’ “space stupids” and from fetal somersaults to the Flying Wallendas, McCredie explores the physiology of equilibrium. | 2007 |
![]() | Better Balance for Life: Banish the Fear of Falling with Simple Activities Added to Your Everyday Routine | Details a 10-week plan for improving stability and banishing fear of falling. | 2018 |
![]() | Terra infirma: A Life Unbalanced | An account of the author’s toxic reaction to the antibiotic gentamicin and how she learned to function without a working vestibular system. | 2007 |
![]() | Exercises for Better Balance: The Stand Strong Workout for Fall Prevention and Longevity | The workout presented in this handbook will guide you to improved balance through simple, easy to follow exercises. | 2015 |
![]() | The Book of Balance: Rehab Secrets to Improve Your Balance and Decrease Your Risk of Falling | This easy-to-read practical guide shows how to add life to your years by improving balance. | 2018 |
![]() | Balance and Your Body: How Exercise Can Help You Avoid a Fall | A seniors’ home-based exercise plan to help prevent falls, maintain independence, and stay in your own home longer. | 2019 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | The Anxiety and Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioral Solution | Written by the founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) together with a fellow cognitive therapy expert. Includes worksheets and exercises designed to help people get on top of anxiety at their own pace, one step at a time, either independently or guided by a therapist. | 2012 |
![]() | Change Your Thinking: Overcome Stress, Combat Anxiety and Depression, and Improve Your Life with CBT | A practical reference to using cognitive behaviour therapy to change negative thoughts and emotions presents a range of exercises for managing destructive feelings and bolstering self-esteem, in a guide that covers such additional topics as problem solving and communication. | 2007 |
![]() | The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Anxiety: A Step-by-step Program | Written by a psychologist with over 40 years experience in using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to treat anxiety and depression. Intended for independent use or guided by a therapist. | 2014 |
![]() | Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think | Cited as “The Most Influential Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Publication” by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, this classic book has helped many to conquer anxiety through CBT. | 2nd edition, 2015 |
![]() | The Healing Power of the Breath | Simple techniques to reduce stress and anxiety, enhance concentration, and balance your emotions. | 2012 |
![]() | Mindfulness: An Eight-week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World | Offers simple and straightforward forms of mindfulness meditation – based on the techniques of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. | 2011 |
![]() | Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life | Explains how anyone can use mindfulness to reduce anxiety, achieve inner peace, find fulfillment and enrich one’s life. Accompanied by a series of anecdotes, instructions and meditations. Also available on CD and as an audiobook. | updated 10th anniversary edition, 2005 |
![]() | Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art | An informative and entertaining look at the science behind healthy ways to breathe. The techniques are described in detail at the end of the book, along with a list of apps and YouTube tutorials. | 2020 |
![]() | Be Calm: Proven Techniques to Stop Anxiety Now | How to handle anxiety with simple evidence-based techniques that can reduce anxious feelings and responses on the spot. | 2019 |
![]() | DARE: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks | Based on hard science and over 10 years helping people who suffer from anxiety, the author advocates facing your fears, anxiety and panic head-on. McDonagh’s approach best suits those who are at a stage when they are willing to try something new. | 2015 |
![]() | Rewire Your Anxious Brain | Offers an evidence-based solution to overcoming anxiety based on current neuroscience and research. | 2015 |
![]() | Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind: How to Stop the Cycle of Anxiety, Fear, and Worry | A psychotherapist shows how to alleviate anxiety, worry and stress using a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) techniques. | 2017 |
![]() | Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety and Eliminate Negative Thinking | Focuses on teaching mindfulness techniques to allow you to be present in the moment and take control of your thought processes. | 2016 |
![]() | The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook | Written by a leading expert in cognitive behaviour therapy, this fully revised 7th edition offers step-by-step treatment strategies for anxiety, worry and fear. | 2020 |
![]() | Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind | A clear, step-by-step plan to uproot anxiety at its source using brain-based techniques and small hacks accessible to anyone. | 2021 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us | A good look at actual nutritional science suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, lifestyle, and genetics/body type. | 2014 |
![]() | Disease-proof: The Remarkable Truth about What Makes Us Well | A leading specialist in preventive medicine outlines an evidence-based, user-friendly set of tools that helps us make simple behavioural changes that have a tremendous effect on our health and well-being. | 2013 |
![]() | In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto | As Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.” | 2009 |
![]() | Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat | A professor of nutrition, food studies and public health, emerita, at New York University reveals the conflicts of interest between the food industry and nutrition science. | 2018 |
![]() | A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat | Dr. Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, debunks the baloney and serves up the raw facts in this appetizing collection of articles about the scientific basis of food chemistry. | 2019 |
![]() | The Dizzy Cook: Managing Migraine with More Than 90 Comforting Recipes and Lifestyle Tips | The author developed her recipes using the principles of Dr. David Bucholz’s “Heal Your Headache” diet for managing migraines, including vestibular migraines. You’ll find ideas for every meal of the day, common ingredient substitutions, travel tips, meal plans and more. | 2020 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Benign Positional Vertigo: An Essential Guide to Coping with and Treating BPPV | Provides a basic understanding of the causes and symptoms of BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), diagnostic tests available, treatment options and ideas for managing this condition. Though the information in this book can be readily found online, it may be a good choice for those without online access. | 2015 |
![]() | The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity | Describes natural, noninvasive avenues into the brain provided by the energy around us — in light, sound, vibration, and movement — that can awaken the brain’s own healing capacities without producing unpleasant side effects. Doidge explores cases where patients alleviated chronic pain; recovered from debilitating strokes, brain injuries, and learning disorders; overcame attention deficit and learning disorders; and found relief from symptoms of a variety of disorders. | 2016 updated edition |
![]() | Coping with Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury | A guide to living with the challenges associated with post concussion syndrome and brain trauma written by a neuropsychologist and concussion survivor. Often presenting itself after a head trauma, concussion — or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) — can cause vestibular problems, chronic migraines, depression, memory, and sleep problems that can last for years, referred to as post concussion syndrome (PCS). | 2013 |
![]() | Ménière's Disease Explained | Describes Ménière’s disease, its affects, symptoms and the many treatments available from mainstream medicine. Written by a health care professional to help people with the disorder better understand their situation. | 2017 |
![]() | Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain | A professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine writes this clear, insightful guide, filled with useful tips for migraine sufferers. While the subtitle suggests that this book focuses only on headaches, the principles discussed apply to the diagnosis and treatment of migraine disorders in general, including vestibular migraines. | 2002 |
![]() | Migraines: More Than a Headache | A comprehensive, easy-to-read overview of current scientific knowledge and available treatment options written by a Montreal neurologist specializing in headache medicine. Dr. Leroux explains what can predispose a person to migraines, what can trigger them, their phases and recommended lines of treatment. | 2016 |
![]() | The Ghost in My Brain | The subtitle captures the contents of this inspiring book in a nutshell: “How a Concussion Stole My Life and How the Science of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get it Back.” The author gives hope to the millions who suffer from head injuries each year, and provides a unique and informative window into the world’s most complex computational device: the human brain. | 2015 |
![]() | A Hole in My Life: Battling Chronic Dizziness | An inspirational personal account of living with semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCD). | 2016 |
![]() | Overcoming Positional Vertigo | An in-depth guide to the diagnosis of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), treatments and manouevres, and preventative measures to avoid recurrence. Dr. Foster is an otolaryngologist and Director of the Balance Laboratory, University of Colorado Hospital. | 2019 |
![]() | Terra infirma: A Life Unbalanced | An account of the author’s toxic reaction to the antibiotic gentamicin and how she learned to function without a working vestibular system. | 2007 |
![]() | I Can Finally Hear Birds | A candid, comical look at hearing loss, Ménière’s disease, vertigo and the process of undergoing cochlear implant surgery written by a woman who has lived with Ménière’s for most of her life. | 2013 |
![]() | Victory Over Vestibular Migraine: The Action Plan for Healing & Getting Your Life Back | An informative, comprehensive and inspiring guide to vestibular migraine written by one of the few neurologists in the US who specializes in vestibular disorders. | 2020 |
![]() | The Dizzy Cook: Managing Migraine with More Than 90 Comforting Recipes and Lifestyle Tips | The author developed her recipes using the principles of Dr. David Bucholz’s “Heal Your Headache” diet for managing migraines, including vestibular migraines. You’ll find ideas for every meal of the day, common ingredient substitutions, travel tips, meal plans and more. | 2020 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | How to Manage Your Tinnitus: A Step-by-Step Workbook | A self-help workbook intended for use by anyone who is bothered by tinnitus. This third edition of the workbook has been extensively revised and expanded to include new sections describing key components of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT). | 2010 |
![]() | Tinnitus Toolbox Hyperacusis Handbook | Tinnitus Toolbox Hyperacusis Handbook covers currently available international science-based approaches including self-help, guided self-help, professional treatments, clinical trials, and experimental research. Written by a Vancouver audiologist who herself suffers from tinnitus. | 2019 |
![]() | Living with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis | Presents recent medical thinking and treatments, including sound therapy, and suggests effective self-help techniques based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Topics include: relaxation therapy, getting a good night’s sleep, avoiding relapse, and helping adults and children with these disorders. | 2010 |
![]() | Smart Hearing: Strategies, Skills, and Resources for Living Better with Hearing Loss | A fact-filled guide for living better with hearing loss. Includes information about how to buy a hearing aid as well as assistive listening technology. | 2018 |
![]() | Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World | Owen demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have. | 2019 |
![]() | Hear AND Understand: What You Need to Know About Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids | A comprehensive look at the common challenges and misconceptions of hearing loss and how to overcome its obstacles. | 2016 |
![]() | Rewiring Tinnitus: How I Finally Found Relief from the Ringing in My Ears | Actionable techniques and specific exercises to help those with tinnitus change their emotional, physical and psychological response to tinnitus so they can finally start to tune it out. The author was 24 years old when developed severe tinnitus after being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease. | 2016 |
![]() | I Can Finally Hear Birds | A candid, comical look at hearing loss, Ménière’s disease, vertigo and the process of undergoing cochlear implant surgery written by a woman who has lived with Ménière’s for most of her life. | 2013 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | Finding Balance: Healing from a Decade of Vestibular Disorders | The author addresses her journey through over a decade of illness, from searching for a diagnosis, through years of treatment, and finally to rebuilding a life within the confines of what her dizziness will allow. Medical information in the book reviewed for accuracy by vestibular specialists. | 2011 |
![]() | The Alchemy of Illness | Reflecting on her own experience with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, and integrating insights from psychology, religion, and other disciplines, a counselor sheds new light on the meaning of illness, recovery and healing. | 2000 |
![]() | The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness | Why do some people find and sustain hope during difficult circumstances, while others do not? With appreciation for the human elements and the science, Dr. Groopman explains how to distinguish true hope from false hope – and how to gain an honest understanding of the reach and limits of this essential emotion. | 2004 |
![]() | At the Will of the Body | In this memoir, the author explores the events of illness from within. To illuminate what illness can teach us about life, he draws upon his own encounters with serious illness and offers insights into what happens when our bodies and emotions are pushed to extremes. Ultimately, he examines what it means to be human. | reprint 2002 |
![]() | Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway | In this enduring guide to self-empowerment, Dr. Susan Jeffers outlines techniques and concepts that have helped many people grab hold of their fears and move forward with their lives. | 2006 |
![]() | Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness | The classic work on mindfulness, meditation, and healing. Kabat-Zinn is the founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. | revised and updated 2013 |
![]() | The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are | An expert of the psychology of shame presents advice on how to overcome paralyzing fears and self-consciousness, and at the same time increase feelings of self-worth, gratitude and acceptance. | 2010 |
![]() | Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions | Tips, suggestions and strategies to deal with chronic illness and symptoms. Originally based on a five-year study conducted at Stanford University, this work has grown to include the feedback of medical professionals and people with chronic conditions all over the world, including Canada. | Canadian 4th edition, 2013 |
![]() | Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living | With insight and humour, Chödrön presents down-to-earth guidance on how we can “start where we are” — embracing rather than denying the painful aspects of our lives. | 2004 |
![]() | Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness: How to Stay Sane and Live one Step Ahead of Your Symptoms | Written by a blogger who suffers from an invisible chronic illness, this book offers peer-to-peer support to help you stay sane, be your own advocate, and get back to living your life. | 2018 |
![]() | When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times | A treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Companion title: The places that scare you: a guide to fearlessness in difficult times (2001). Also available on CD and as an audiobook. | 2016 |
![]() | You Don’t Look Sick: Living Well with Invisible Chronic Illness | Chronicles a patient’s true-life accounts and her physician’s compassionate commentary as they take a journey through the three stages of chronic illness: getting sick, being sick, and living well. | 2012 |
![]() | But You LOOK Good: How to Encourage and Understand People Living with Illness and Pain | A convenient, informative way to educate loved ones about what people living with ongoing illness struggle with, fight for and need from their friends and family. | 2014 |
![]() | Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired: Living with Chronic Invisible Illness | Insights and information about coping and living with long-term conditions. | 2000 |
![]() | When Someone You Love Has a Chronic Illness: Hope and Help for Those Providing Support | Dr. Greenburg offers hope and practical advice to those impacted by a loved one’s chronic illness. Providing easy-to-understand explanations for complicated feelings and behaviour, this book will help you not just cope, but thrive, in your day-to-day life. | 2012 |
![]() | How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide | A practical guide for navigating the many challenges of living with a chronic condition, from career crises and relationship issues to struggles with self-blame, personal identity, and isolation. | 2015 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | The Promise of Sleep: A Pioneer in Sleep Medicine Explores the Vital Connection Between Health, Happiness, and a Good Night’s Sleep | Written by renowned sleep researcher and founder of the Sleep Research Center at Stanford University. | 1999 |
![]() | Say Goodnight to Insomnia: Six-week Drug-free Program Developed at Harvard Medical School | Written by an insomnia specialist at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School who spent almost 20 years treating and researching insomnia. | 2009 |
![]() | Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day | The author, the medical director of sleep disorders centres in Arizona, covers the basics of sleep disorders. | 2014 |
![]() | Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams | The neuroscientist who directs UC Berkley’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab explains how sleep can make us healthier, safer, smarter and more productive. | 2018 |
Image | Book Title | Description With Links | Year |
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![]() | 10% Happier | The subtitle says it all: “How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works.” The art of meditation for skeptics. | 2019 |
![]() | Terra infirma: A Life Unbalanced | An account of the author’s toxic reaction to the antibiotic gentamicin and how she learned to function without a working vestibular system. | 2007 |
![]() | A Hole in My Life: Battling Chronic Dizziness | An inspirational personal account of living with semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCD). | 2016 |
![]() | Dizzy: A Fictional Memoir | Angie Styles, a beloved Broadway star, is struck down at the height of her career by bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP). Based on his personal experiences with BVP, author Arthur Wooten takes a light-hearted approach to chronicling the challenges of living with a disorder that has a major impact on daily life. | 2012 |
![]() | The Alchemy of Illness | Reflecting on her own experience with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, and integrating insights from psychology, religion, and other disciplines, a counselor sheds new light on the meaning of illness, recovery and healing. | 2000 |
![]() | Vertigo: When the World Spins Out of Control | Offers not only detailed information about vestibular disorders, but also an exploration of the vertigo experience itself and of the problems that can crop up in searching for effective therapy and a sense of understanding. The book is unique in that more than fifty people were interviewed in order to provide a good look at a variety of real life experiences. | 2017 |
![]() | Finding Balance: Healing from a Decade of Vestibular Disorders | The author addresses her journey through over a decade of illness, from searching for a diagnosis, through years of treatment, and finally to rebuilding a life within the confines of what her dizziness will allow. Medical information in the book reviewed for accuracy by vestibular specialists. | 2011 |
![]() | Dizzy Me | Together with Antwerp professor Dr. Floris Wuyts, Tania Stadsbader, who suffered from vertigo for fourteen years, has written a book about her experiences in a fast-paced, career-oriented world in which there is little room for dizziness. | 2017 |