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• Summary
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• Symptoms

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• Living With
• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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For You

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• Older Adults
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Summary

Have you ever felt dizzy, lightheaded, or as if the room is spinning around you? If the feeling happens often, it could be a sign of a balance problem. Balance problems can make you feel unsteady. You may also have blurred vision, confusion, and disorientation. They are one cause of falls and fall-related injuries, such as a hip fracture (broken hip).

Some balance problems are due to problems in the inner ear. Others may involve another part of the body, such as the brain or the heart. Aging, infections, head injury, certain medicines, or problems with blood circulation may also cause balance problems.

It is important to see your doctor about balance problems. They can be a sign of other health problems, such as an ear infection or a stroke. Your doctor may send you to a specialist for a diagnosis. You may need a hearing test, blood tests, or imaging studies of your head and brain. Other possible tests look at your eye movements, and how your body responds to movement.

In some cases, treating the illness that is causing the disorder will help with the balance problem. Exercises, a change in diet, and some medicines also can help.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

• Balance Disorders (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Vestibular Symptoms (Vestibular Disorders Association)

Living With

• Dealing With Dizziness: Getting Help for a Balance Disorder (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Improving Balance with Tai Chi (Vestibular Disorders Association) - PDF
• Living with a Vestibular Disorder (Vestibular Disorders Association)
• Strength and Balance Exercises (American Heart Association)

Specifics

• Walking (Gait) Difficulties (National Multiple Sclerosis Society)

Statistics and Research

• Statistics about Hearing, Balance, Ear Infections and Deafness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Balance Problems (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Impact of early vs. delayed physical therapy on functional recovery, proprioception,...
• Article: Impact of sensorimotor mismatch on virtual reality sickness and user experience:...
• Article: Modifying lumbar flexion pain thresholds in patients with chronic low back...
• Balance Problems -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Glossary (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Types of Vestibular Disorders (Vestibular Disorders Association)

Find an Expert

• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Balance Disorders (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• Balance and Aging (Vestibular Disorders Association) - PDF

Patient Handouts

• Dizziness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vertigo-associated disorders (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish