Support

What is HeadPause Pro?

Pro is a one-time $4.99 unlock that adds the full Balance library (Epley, Semont, Half-Somersault, BBQ Roll) with form scoring, longer Still sessions plus the full soundscape library, all five Motion environments with horizon holds, drift hum, and trip telemetry, the full Ring sound studio (masking, focus tones, wind-down beds, quiet-room support), complete practice history, and iCloud sync across your devices. The free tier includes the Brandt-Daroff and Gaze Stabilization Balance routines, Still sessions up to 3 minutes with two soundscapes, Motion horizon-hold for car and before-travel, the Mask Ring intent, and 30 days of history. No subscriptions, no recurring charges.

Do I need AirPods to use HeadPause?

AirPods give you the full experience: pose-guided Balance routines, calm scoring in Still, and the live horizon in Motion. With other headphones (wired EarPods, generic Bluetooth) you still get voice-guided sessions and the full Ring sound studio. Without headphones, audio routes through the iPhone speaker. Voice walkthroughs in Balance, soundscape and voice in Still, voice cues in Motion, and Ring's sound bed all play through the phone. Head tracking and scoring need motion-capable AirPods, but every module still launches. The app adapts to what you have rather than gating you out.

Do I need an Apple Watch?

No. HeadPause does not use the Apple Watch or any biometric sensors. All head tracking is done through AirPods only.

Does HeadPause use HealthKit?

Only when you turn it on. The Settings → Health & privacy panel has a single HealthKit toggle. When you enable it and grant Apple's standard sharing prompt, HeadPause writes the duration of completed Still sessions to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes. HeadPause never reads anything from HealthKit, and nothing is written when the toggle is off.

Does HeadPause use the microphone?

No. HeadPause does not request microphone access and does not record audio. It plays back voice cues and ambient soundscapes through your AirPods, but it never listens through them.

What does HeadPause actually measure?

Head pitch (up/down tilt), roll (side-to-side tilt), and yaw (left/right rotation), sampled roughly ten times a second. The app derives drift, steady percentages, calm scores, and horizon-hold percent from those samples. Nothing else.

Is HeadPause a medical device?

No. HeadPause is a wellness and training tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose or treat vertigo, BPPV, motion sickness, or any other condition. The balance routines are educational demonstrations of the same canalith repositioning maneuvers clinicians use, not a substitute for clinical care. If dizziness is new, severe, or paired with hearing loss, weakness, numbness, double vision, or a bad headache, contact a clinician.

What are the four practice modes?

Balance: symptom-first routines drawn from the canalith repositioning maneuvers used in vestibular care (Epley, Semont, Brandt-Daroff, Half-Somersault, BBQ Roll, Gaze Stabilization). Still: eyes-closed steadiness sessions where you sit quietly while the app measures how much your head drifts and gives you a calm score. Motion: horizon-hold sessions across five environments (car, plane, screen fatigue, before travel, after travel) with a soft box-breathing pacer. Ring: ear-calm sound sessions for ringing, buzzing, or fullness in your ears, masking, focus tones, wind-down, and quiet-room support. Ring is a comfort tool, not a tinnitus treatment.

How is the calm score calculated?

The Still practice samples head pitch and roll about ten times a second. The calm score rewards time spent near your starting pose and penalizes large drifts. Held-steady percent is the fraction of samples inside a roughly 6 degree tolerance. Peak drift is the largest single deviation during the session. None of these are clinical numbers. They are a consistent ruler you can practice against.

What are the drift chime and haptic nudges?

During Still sessions, the ambient soundscape fades when your head drifts and returns as you settle. That is your audio feedback for closed-eyes practice. During Motion sessions, a soft haptic tap paces your breath, and a slightly stronger tap fires if you leave the horizon window for long enough that a reminder helps. Both are gentle signals, not corrections.

Where is my practice history stored?

All session logs, completion counts, personal bests, and preferences are stored locally on your iPhone. If you enable iCloud sync in Settings, your history syncs across your own devices through Apple's encrypted iCloud container. Nothing is sent to any GMX3C server.

How do I delete my data?

Open Settings inside the app and use the reset options to clear practice history. Deleting the app from your iPhone removes all on-device HeadPause data. If you had iCloud sync enabled, you can also remove the HeadPause container from your iCloud settings.

What does the AirPods status chip in the header mean?

The chip in the top-right shows which audio output is connected, with a matching SF Symbol (AirPods Pro, AirPods Gen 3, AirPods Max, or generic headphones). If you see AirPods not connected, you can still run every module: voice and soundscapes play through the iPhone speaker, and the routine, timer, and visuals work the same way. Connecting motion-capable AirPods is what unlocks pose guidance, calm scoring, and the live horizon. If you see a simulator or unsupported device warning, the app cannot track head motion on that device, but the audio walkthrough still plays.

What is BPPV?

BPPV stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Benign means not dangerous. Paroxysmal means it comes in sudden short bursts. Positional means it is triggered by how you move your head. Vertigo means the room-spinning sensation. Put together: short, harmless, head-position-triggered spinning. It is the most common cause of vertigo and usually the most treatable. HeadPause has an in-app primer that explains this in more detail.

When should I NOT use the balance routines?

Skip the balance routines if your vertigo is brand new, severe, or paired with hearing loss, weakness, numbness, double vision, or a bad headache, as those are clinician-level symptoms. Also skip if you have recent neck or back surgery, unstable cervical spine disease, or if kneeling and lying flat are unsafe for you. When in doubt, call a doctor.