The Great Balancing Act: An Insider’s Guide to the Human Vestibular System
Jeffrey D. Sharon, M.D.

I never thought much about my vestibular system, except for the time I had a wicked migraine attack, which left me feeling that I was trying to stand on a boat navigating rough seas.

The vestibular system, according to Google’s AI bot, is “The vestibular system is a sensory system in the inner ear that provides your brain with information about your head’s position and movement, which is essential for maintaining balance, spatial orientation, and clear vision.”

Because I studied human anatomy and physiology in college, I knew what the vestibular system did, but this book The Great Balancing Act: An Insider’s Guide to the Human Vestibular System showed me how complex it is.

Doctor Sharon meticulously explains the mechanism of what the vestibular system is and how it works, especially how it must work with the eyes to allow us to track any object of interest when we move our heads. Despite my knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, I never realized that the three sets of semicircular canals, oriented at ninety degrees to one other along the X, Y, and Z axes to detect head rotation in three dimensions, are roughly on the same plane as the three sets of muscles moving the eyes.

A small complaint I have is that author Doctor Sharon sometimes would use terms (such as “fMRI”) and not explain what it means (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) or does (uses neuroimaging to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and flow). I do feel that all terms should be explained, especially in a book that is, more or less aimed at an educated general public.

I can’t be too upset because he mentions one of my favorite movies, Fantastic Voyage in which a team of scientists are miniaturized and injected into a patient to take care of a brain clot—it probably doesn’t hold up as far as the science is concerned, but it’s still pretty to look at!

One aspect of the vestibular apparatus that Doctor Sharon discusses is how space travel can affect balance. The problems that astronauts have encountered returning to the Earth after an extensive period of time away from gravity is something that will need to be solved before we can look at travel to even the closest planets. A typical mission aboard the International Space Station is six months and the record is fifteen days short of a year and helped highlight the severity of the problem.

I have to warn you that this is not an easy book to read, especially if you don’t have a background in the subject at hand. There were times when I had to reread sections because I couldn’t quite follow what was being said on the first read.

You don’t have to have a PhD level background in human anatomy and physiology, but basic college biology should be adequate. High school biology and doing your own research may not.

This book is definitely aimed at someone who is interested in learning more about the vestibular system and those who may suffer from the affliction and this book can serve as a solid foundation on the subject.

I was particularly impressed with the section of resources, especially his advice on how to find a doctor who could treat a vestibular problem. Doctor Sharon even has suggestions on how to find a doctor to treat the problem as well as what the patient can do to increase their chances of success.

I also liked the illustrated glossary because I imagine that many readers will be consulting it while reading this book.

I really enjoyed reading The Great Balancing Act: An Insider’s Guide to the Human Vestibular System and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the subject. As previously stated, this isn’t an easy book to read, but the reader will be rewarded with advanced knowledge on the subject.

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion, which I have given here.]