Vestibular/Balance Treatments

Balance and the Inner Ear

Our balance system, or vestibular system, helps us walk, run and move without falling by processing signals from the senses to the brain. The vestibular system is located in the inner ear, which is why you may feel disoriented or dizzy when you have an ear infection.

Sensations of dizziness or vertigo can be caused by a number of things. Your vestibular system takes in information from the eyes, ears, skin and other sensory organs. A condition in any of these systems could impact your balance. This is why a comprehensive assessment should be performed early in the treatment process.

Dangers of a Vestibular Disorder

Anyone who has experienced involuntary dizziness knows how serious this condition can be. When you can’t feel steady on your feet, your risk of falling dramatically increases. In turn, your risk of suffering a head or back injury also rises and in severe cases these injuries can last a lifetime.

Walk Steadily Again

Our skilled audiologists diagnose and treat people who have impaired balance, dizziness, vertigo and other conditions. In many cases, a patient’s care is coordinated by a team of multidisciplinary professionals, each working to address the various symptoms and causes. Your care team may include:

• Audiologists
• Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, also known as otolaryngologists
• Neurologists
• Physical therapists

Diagnosing a Balance Disorder

To diagnose a balance disorder, an audiologist may conduct one or more of the following diagnostic tests:

• Videonystagmography (VNG). A series of tests that evaluate the vestibular system. This includes the recording of eye movements while the patient views stationary and moving objects, moves into various head and body positions and during the stimulation of each inner ear balance mechanism.
• Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP). This test measures visual, somatosensory (muscles & joints) and vestibular (inner ear) components of balance. The patient stands on a platform and is asked to try to maintain their balance under various conditions. A safety harness is worn by the patient.
• Comprehensive hearing evaluations. This assess the hearing portion of the entire ear.

Vestibular/Balance Rehabilitation

If you are someone who lives in fear of falling, sometimes feels like the room is spinning, or is afraid of stepping off of a curb, you may be among the estimated 69 million Americans who have some sort of vestibular dysfunction. Symptoms caused by the condition may be alleviated by balance/vestibular rehabilitation.

The rehabilitation process is primarily exercise-based. While it isn’t common for patients to regain complete function of their vestibular system after developing balance disorder symptoms, these exercises will retrain the brain to compensate, relying on other bodily senses. Therapists will customize exercises to your condition using methods such as habituation, gaze stabilization and balance training.

• Vestibular rehabilitation. An exercise program specifically designed to help patients to compensate for a loss or imbalance within the vestibular system. Traditional physical therapy techniques as well as Cybex Balance Machine are utilized. The Balance machine provides patients with motivating and goal directed exercises through computerized biofeedback.
• Fall risk evaluation. This assesses the patient's mobility, sensation, balance and other factors that may predispose a patient to falling. Education and instruction is provided to reduce risk factors. Additional therapy may be indicated.
• Home safety evaluation. A Checklist assessment is used to determine home safety when performing daily living activities.

Balance Disorders We Treat

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Unlike simple dizziness, a person with vertigo will see their environment spinning. The sensation can be triggered by repositioning the head or body.
• Labyrinthitis. Typically, a virus such as the cold or flu is the source of labyrinthitis. Common symptoms include hearing loss, dizziness and vertigo.
• Vestibular neuritis. Viruses will also sometimes result in vestibular neuritis. However, the primary difference between vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis is that hearing isn’t affected in the latter condition.
• Ménière’s disease: Common symptoms include vertigo, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), loss of hearing, and ear pressure. The condition usually begins in one ear and may later appear in the other.
• Inner ear concussion syndrome. Usually brought on by head trauma, inner ear concussion syndrome may cause vertigo, postural imbalance, vomiting, nausea, tinnitus and loss of hearing.
• Traumatic brain injury. Violent blows to the head by an outside force can result in traumatic brain injuries. Symptoms include loss of balance, blackout, dizziness, fatigue or fainting.
• Stroke. Strokes are brought on by disruption of the brain’s blood supply, causing difficulty walking, talking and comprehending. Paralysis of limbs or the face is also common. A person experiencing a stroke may also exhibit a loss of balance, lightheadedness or vertigo.
• Post-concussion syndrome. Often characterized as the persistence of symptoms weeks or months after the injury that caused the concussion. Common symptoms include headache and dizziness.

Common Causes of Vestibular and Balance Disorders

Below are common causes of balance disorders:

• Medications
• Infections
• Inner ear problems, such as those related to poor circulation in the ear
• Problems rooted in the brain, such as traumatic brain injury or tumor

Is Vestibular Disorder Treatment Right for You?

If you are frequently dizzy or disoriented, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible. A medical professional can help you manage the symptoms of vestibular disorders while working on a more permanent solution. If you can answer YES to one or more of these questions, you may be an appropriate candidate for

1. Do you experience dizziness with sudden changes in movement?
2. Have you fallen in the past year?
3. Do you have numbness in your feet and legs?
4. Do your legs feel weak?
5. Do you feel unsteady when you are walking?
6. Have you had a mild stroke or other neurological problem affecting your balance?
7. Do you use an assistive device to walk, such as a cane or walker?
8. Are you inactive?