Balance and Hearing

According to a study, millions of people suffer from inner ear disorders, which can directly affect their balance.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore point out that such problems directly affect our Balance and Hearing, and poor balance can cause many problems, the most serious of which is falls.

The researchers collected data from a federal US study involving more than 5,000 volunteers aged 40 and over. The volunteers had answered questions about their history of falls and any balance disorders. They were then tested to see whether they were able to maintain their balance under various conditions, one of which was to stand upright with their eyes closed.

As the analysis of the data showed, more than one in three of the volunteers suffered from a balance disorder called vestibular dysfunction – the vestibule is part of the inner ear and plays an important role in maintaining balance.

The study also showed that 32% of the volunteers who had not experienced symptoms of poor balance, such as vertigo – vertigo is a consequence of a disorder of the systems involved in maintaining balance and orientation in space.

Balance and Hearing

“The key issue here is falls,” argues lead researcher Dr. Yuri Agraval. “Severe falls, especially after 60, can be the beginning of the end for the patient. For doctors, detecting balance problems in a patient is not a complicated matter and there are treatments that can help them.”

Treatments include balance exercises that help the patient to cushion the inner ear disorder.