Mal de Débarquement calculator

Do you experience a non-spinning sensation of rocking, bobbing, or swaying — as if you're still on a boat or moving platform?

This is the hallmark MdDS sensation. It's not the room-spinning kind of vertigo — it's an oscillation, like still being at sea. Some people describe it as feeling like the floor is moving underneath them.

Is the rocking/swaying sensation present continuously, or for most of the day?

It can change in intensity through the day — but it should be present most of the time you're awake, not just in brief flashes.

Did the symptoms start within 48 hours after a period of passive motion ended — for example, getting off a boat, plane, train, or after a long car trip?

"Passive motion" means motion you experience without doing the moving yourself. Sea voyages are the classic trigger, but flights and long drives can also precipitate MdDS. The onset usually happens soon after you disembark.

Do your symptoms temporarily improve when you're back in passive motion — for example, when driving a car, riding in a vehicle, or back on a boat?

A characteristic feature of MdDS is that going back into motion makes the rocking feeling better, not worse. This is the opposite of what happens in many other balance disorders.

Have the symptoms continued for more than 48 hours since they started?

MdDS by definition lasts longer than 48 hours. A brief rocking sensation after a trip that resolves in a day or two is normal "sea legs", not MdDS. Symptoms lasting up to one month are called MdDS "in evolution"; symptoms continuing beyond a month are called "persistent" MdDS.

Has another condition already been identified that better explains these symptoms?

For example: vestibular migraine, persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD), Ménière's, vestibular neuritis, or a central neurological cause. If you haven't been evaluated, answer "No" — but this question can only really be answered by a clinician.