Chronically fatigued, sufferers can become fatigued quickly with minimal exertion and some might experience neck and back pain. Other symptoms include the feeling of pressure in the brain, mostly around the frontal lobe area, headaches and/or migraine headaches, ophthalmodynia periodica (ice pick stabbing headaches in the early stages of MdDs), ear pain, ear fullness and possibly tinnitus.Fluctuations in weather also affect sufferers, in particularly hot weather and barometric pressure changes. Many have photo-sensitivity and find it more difficult to walk in the dark as well as other sensitivities to strong smells including chemical smells. Cognitive impairment ("brain fog") includes an inability to recall words, short term memory loss, an inability to multi-task, misspelling and mispronunciation of words, difficulty in concentrating. Many MdDS sufferers report they are unable to use a computer for any length of time due to the visual over-stimulation, and some are even unable to watch television.Symptoms can be increased by stress, lack of sleep, crowds, flickering lights, loud sounds, fast or sudden movements, enclosed areas and visual intolerance of busy patterns and scrolling movement.MdDS sufferers may have hypersomnia and can sleep up to 12 or more hours a day, depending on their symptom levels. Research reveals MdDS is not migraine-related and many sufferers have never had migraine symptoms prior to the onset of the disorder.
The trends in Hains report have recently been supported by the MdDS Balance Disorder Foundation, in a study of over 100 individuals diagnosed with MdDS. The female:male ratio was approximately 9:1; the average age of onset was 43–45 years. However, another recent study found that 44% of subjects who had experienced MdDS for 2 years or more were male, suggesting a more even distribution. It has been shown to occur in excursions of as little as 30 minutes though it has been unclear how long it takes for symptoms to occur. The most commonly reported inciting event was a prolonged ocean cruise (~45%); however, shorter boating excursions (~22%), aircraft travel (~15%), and automobile travel (~8%) have all been described.Mal de Débarquement syndrome has been noted as far back to the times of Erasmus Darwin in 1796, and Irwin J A (1881) "The pathology of seasickness". Cases of MdDS have been reported in children as young as eight and in both genders. Men may have a more difficult time obtaining a diagnosis due to the disparity of women reported. When sailors and soldiers returned from World War II, the syndrome was reported at a higher rate in males

Research
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
Despite MdDS causing significant disability, therapy for persistent MdDS remains virtually nonexistent. A pilot study has commenced utilizing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) this being a method of neuromodulation in which a local magnetic field is applied over the scalp to induce an electric current in the cortical structures underlying the coil.