The fullback just wants to get back on the field and put behind him what he described as a niggly time.
Smith
was thought to have picked up three concussions this season but it turns out the last one, in the first test for the All Blacks against the British and Irish Lions on June 24, was not a concussion.
He admitted being worried about what was happening with him and the impact it would have on his family.
"I just had a bit of a niggly time. It was unfortunate with the timing of it.
"It is called PPV, which causes a bit of vertigo. It was unlucky that it struck right at the first time with the Lions. It caused me a few issues with balance," he said.
Paroxysmal positional vertigo usually lasted for only a minute or two but made sufferers lose balance, and dizziness occurred.
Smith said it was hard to get on top of and took a while.
"We knew we had to get to the bottom of what was going on. I knew I was being a bit of a liability for the team if that struck in the middle of the game again.
"So I’d had a couple early on in the season. So that this was a problem with my ear, rather than concussion, was a real relief for me.
"I was thinking, as a family, where do we go with this? Will I have to take a few more weeks to find out what the go was?
"When I found out it was an ear problem, it was a massive relief. So I could go back to doing what I love and that is playing footy."
He had worked to get better over the past couple of weeks through Highlanders medical staff and also done some work at the University of Otago School of Physiotherapy.
The condition can be improved through a series of exercises and body motion.
Smith joined the All Blacks in the final few days before the third test and was running out water in the decider at Eden Park.
"But I’d rather be out there playing. I did quite enjoy doing that [water boy] and adding to the team. Just making sure the messages go out to the coaches.
"Sometimes you have to be a bit selective of what you tell from the coaches.
"I enjoyed being part of it and the team environment."
But Smith wants to stop talking about the game and to just get out and play.
He declined to talk about reports on his planned sabbatical, where he is expected to miss all tests after the Bledisloe Cup game in Dunedin on August 26.