Vestibular Neuritis — Acute Vertigo Without Hearing Loss

A 41-year-old man presents with abrupt onset of continuous severe rotatory vertigo and vomiting for 36 hours following an upper respiratory infection. Examination reveals unidirectional horizontal-torsional nystagmus with fast phase to the left, and the head impulse test shows a corrective saccade when the head is turned rapidly to the right. Pure-tone audiometry is completely normal with symmetric thresholds and preserved speech discrimination. The clinical findings marked **A** in the diagram (normal audiogram with abnormal head impulse and unidirectional nystagmus) are most consistent with vestibular neuritis. Which of the following management principles is MOST critical in the acute phase to prevent impairment of central vestibular compensation?