Motion sickness-like syndrome among tank simulator drivers.
A military tank driving simulator has recently been introduced as a training aid for tank drivers in the Israel Defense Forces. Reports of nausea and vomiting among the first users of the simulator launched our investigation of the possible existence of a motion sickness-like syndrome among simulator drivers. Although the 59 subjects drove the simulator without any report of vomiting, other motion sickness-like symptoms were frequently reported. A comparison of symptoms reported after simulator and real tank driving show that dizziness, nausea, disorientation and hypersalivation were more frequently reported by simulator drivers and were of greater intensity. However, sweating and drowsiness were more prevalent among real tank drivers. The objective effect of driving the simulator was evaluated by instability and performance tests that were conducted before, during and after driving the simulator. A greater decrement in test results was observed among subjects reporting higher frequency of motion sickness-like symptoms.