Vagus Nerve Dysfunction Treatment

Your vagus nerve is your body’s neurochemical “superhighway,” carrying signals between the brain and your vital organs. When it isn’t functioning properly, the effects can ripple throughout your entire body — affecting your ears, your digestion, your sleep, and your ability to manage stress. At our practice, we are proud to offer VagusLase®, an innovative infrared laser therapy developed specifically to address vagus nerve dysfunction and help your nervous system return to balance.

What Is Vagus Nerve Dysfunction?

The vagus nerve plays a central role in regulating your parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest, digest, and restore” state that keeps your body functioning at its best. When the vagus nerve is impaired or overstimulated, your body can become stuck in a chronic sympathetic state: the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. Over time, this imbalance can manifest as a wide range of symptoms that are often difficult to trace back to a single cause, including ringing in the ears, dizziness, digestive disturbances, and heightened sensitivity to stress.

Tinnitus alone — a phantom sensation of sound experienced in the absence of any acoustic stimulus — affects an estimated 20% of adults severely enough to require clinical intervention. Currently, no curative evidence-based treatments for tinnitus exist. VagusLase® represents a safe, non-surgical option that may offer meaningful relief for patients who have found few other options.

How VagusLase® Works

VagusLase® was developed by Dr. Harvey Shiffman after more than 20 years of therapeutic laser use. It delivers a very specific, biologically safe coherent infrared light through a specially designed handpiece, using FDA-approved technology. It is important to note that VagusLase® is not the same as low-level laser therapy, cold laser therapy, or photobiomodulation — it is distinct in both its approach and its delivery method.

The therapy is non-invasive and medication-free. Rather than acting as a “cure,” VagusLase® works as an effective adjunctive therapy — supporting the brain and nervous system’s ability to “reboot,” build resilience to stress, and return to a more balanced, parasympathetic state. The treatment has been in use for many years with no known adverse effects.