About 9 percent of adults age 65 and older report having problems with balance.
Good balance is essential to being able to control and maintain your body’s position while moving and remaining still. Good balance helps you:
• Walk without staggering
• Arise from chairs without falling
• Climb stairs without tripping
You need good balance to help you stay independent and carry out daily chores and activities. Problems with sense of balance are experienced by many people as they age.
A feeling like you or the things around you are spinning is called “vertigo.” About 40 percent of Americans will experience dizziness that is serious enough to go to a doctor, and among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths.
There are many types of balance disorders. Two types are:
1. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
2. labyrinthitis
The most common balance disorder is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo that occurs as a brief, intense feeling of vertigo when you change the position of your head. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is also experienced sometimes when rolling over to the left or right, upon getting out of bed in the morning, or when looking up for an object on a high shelf. This condition is more likely to occur in adults 60 and older, but also occurs in younger people.
The cause for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is unknown. It may be caused by an inner ear infection, head injury or simply aging.
Labyrinthitis is an infection or inflammation of the inner ear causing dizziness and loss of balance. It affects adults of any age and the cause is unknown.
M
