"If he had a broken arm or even a sprained ankle Jonas Hiller would be able to wrap his mind around exactly what kind of recovery period he would need to go through.

But the source of his dizziness and lightheadedness has been a mystery to the goaltender who has meant everything to the Ducks this season but doesn't know when he will be back on the ice with them.

He met with the media Wednesday for the first time since the full recurrence of those symptoms, and Hiller said doctors told him they believe he is suffering from vertigo, even though there has been no official determination for the cause.

"They've kind of ruled it out, the concussion thing," Hiller said before the Ducks' 3-2 loss to the Kings. "They're saying it's kind of vertigo. They couldn't really tell me where it's coming from or whatever.

"That's kind of the tough part, to kind of like just accept it and not knowing where it's coming from. Just work with that and try to desensitize my brain with all the input that I get from my body."

Hiller has not been on the ice since he left during practice Feb. 15 after a shot in the shoulder area. The All-Star goalie said the shot didn't affect his symptoms any but acknowledged he had not been feeling right before he worked out that day.

Hiller conceded he wasn't 100 percent during his one game in the past three weeks — a 12-save shutout of Edmonton in which he made a few big stops but was rarely tested.

"The game in Edmonton was kind of so-so," he said. "I was hoping to feel better the next few days. It kind of went the other way. I definitely felt worse in that practice. I didn't feel good at all.

"That shot on the shoulder at the end was not really what bothered me. I already talked to Clarkie (trainer Tim Clark) before that (and said) I'm not feeling right. I kind of was glad to get off the ice. At the same time, I was definitely disappointed that we haven't found a solution to the problem."