Falls are big problem for older adults. Dizziness related to inner problems can lead to falls. This episodes explores the problems older adults can have with their inner ears.
https://vestibular.org/article/diagnosis-treatment/types-of-vestibular-disorders/benign-
websites for more information
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/bppv-why-loose-ear-crystals-make-you-dizzy-and-how-to-fix-them/
https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/ears-nose-and-throat/vertigo
Contact Kathy for more questions or for future podcasts at info@kathysconsulting.com
Welcome to knowledge for caregivers. My name is Kathy, the host of this podcast. Since I have been a geriatric nurse for almost 10 years helping seniors age in place, I'm going to give you the knowledge that I used to help my own family, so you can help your family.
Welcome to this podcast, inner ear problems and balance. What does the inner ear have to do with balance. Throughout this podcast series, I'm going to talk frequently about falls. According to the CDC, one in three adults over the age of 65, fall every year, some of them are hurt, some of them are not hurt. Those who get hurt, many of them will break a bone or a hip, or even hit their head and have a brain injury. Falling is one of the main reasons they end up in the hospital. It is also one of the main reasons that they end up in a long term care facility, sometimes permanently, trying to prevent falls is a very big health problem.
There are many reasons that older adults fall but today we're going to talk about one of the big reasons is a problem with their inner ear, you're going to probably ask me, What do you mean by the inner ear, we all can see the outer ear right, the part of the ear that sticks out, that's really not a very important part of the ear. All it does is funnel noise into our ear and channel it into the ear canal. Then we have something called the middle ear. In the middle ear, there are three little bones that vibrate, and that send sound waves into our inner ear. The inner ear, which has some hair follicles will then take those sound waves and send them on up to the brain. And that determines what the person hears. But the inner ear also serves a different function. It helps us to maintain our balance, the inner ear has fluid inside of it. And it has this semi circular bone that looks like a shell. This fluid moves when you move your head different ways. And it sends a signal to your brain saying kind of where your body is in the middle of space. If you stand up straight and lean forward, that fluid moves with it and it tells your body Hey, I've lean forward. Don't lean forward too much further or you might fall. I like to compare it to someone holding a big glass of water yet walking around in it sloshing and how much is sloshes determine how firmly you're going to steady that water. When everything is working correctly in the inner ear, we can maintain our balance. But if something is going wrong in the inner ear, it can definitely mess up our balance those with inner ear problems, especially the elderly, they can complain many times of feeling dizzy. In the United States, probably about 40% of Americans at one time have experienced an episode that we call dizziness. It's also one of the most common complaints for those who are over the age of 75.
I remember my dad a couple of years ago complaining about dizziness. This is how he described it. He goes when I stand on the sand at the beach, it feels like there's a treadmill moving under me. He goes it makes me feel like I'm not very steady. He really didn't know what was happening to him. Again, I'm thankful for the experience that I've had. Because I came in contact with a lot of physical therapist, they had told me that many times dizziness is caused by inner ear problems. And I told my dad, I think you should go see an ear, nose and throat doctor. He didn't at first he thought he could just go to his regular doctor. I don't know why the regular doctor didn't pick it up, but he couldn't help them. One of the things that can cause inner ear problems is to have say inflammation or an infection in the inner ear. Doctors can usually give you medicine and fix that problem. But one of the most common problems of an inner ear problem is that circular bone I was telling you about some calcium crystals that float around in the fluid of the inner ear will get into that bone and they will settle to the bottom. These calcium crystals kind of remind me of lava lamps. You know when you see a lava lamp, you see these different bubbles moving up and down. That's what the crystals are doing in this fluid. They're just moving around different places helping with balance, but when they get in that semi circular bone, it messes up our balance. When he finally did go to the ear, nose and throat doctor. The doctor did a test to show that that was the problem. The doctors can perform a procedure where they kind of tilt the head back and move it in a certain way.
Basically what that does is it causes those ear crystals to break loose, and get out of that bone back into the fluid where they belong. This does not always happen right away. I remember asking dad after he had the procedure done, did that fix your problem? No, he said, I'm still feeling dizzy. But about three weeks later, he started to feel normal again, my mother in law also began to complain of dizzy spells. I said the same thing. You need to go to an ear, nose and throat doctor. I don't understand if this is just a problem in the United States. But it seems like primary care doctors don't know as much about these calcium crystals. That's the reason I'm telling you about them so that you can say, Hey, could this be a problem with the calcium crystals, she went, she had the same procedure done. And when I called her to check on it, she told me she said, Kathy, that was awful. It made me even feel dizzier she had the procedure done twice. And she said, I never want to have this done again. Sometimes when a person has this procedures and loosens those calcium crystals back to where they belong. They're disoriented. Again, I always recommend that if your loved one is going to have this procedure done, to drive them to their appointment, it might also be a good idea to have somebody who can be nearby, in case it does have the opposite effect of making them feel dizzy or for a short spell. Eventually, my mother in law did get better, she quit having the dizzy spells. Therefore, I think that really worked. dizziness is not always caused by an inner ear problem. It is always very important with dizzy spells to get checked out. If it's an inner ear problem, it's something that can be corrected very easily. If it is not an inner ear problem, it definitely can be a long term problem. Usually at that point, doctors might prescribe some medication that might help with the dizzy spells.
If you have a loved one that complains of dizziness, or if your loved one can't tell you about it, but they appear to be staggering more, definitely something to check out. The reason it's always important to deal with dizziness is that older adults can develop this fear of falling, a healthy fear of falling is a good thing. You want them to take precautions. I don't know how many homes I've gone into where someone has fallen and broken something. And the reason was, they climbed up onto a stepladder. And they weren't very stable to begin with. Some people will just not use a walker even though it makes them more steady. Therefore a fear of falling that causes the elderly person to take precautions is a healthy fear. an unhealthy fear is when they quit doing everything and they just stay in their chair. They do what I like to call nesting. They get in their chair, they get tons of tables around their chair, and they just pile it with everything that they need. They've got their medications, they got their food, they've got their snacks, they got their telephone, and they hardly ever get up. Unless they absolutely have to. If they live with somebody, it can be worse because then they're depending on somebody to bring them everything that they need. Once a person starts nesting, what I have found is that they begin to lose muscle mass. I've had so many people tell me mom and dad were in the hospital for just four days they walked in. And yet when they got out, they could barely walk. When you're 75 to 80 years old and you end up in the hospital on bed rest for a long period of time, you can lose muscle a lot quicker than someone who's in their 50s. It's very important to try to keep the elderly person walking, moving and exercising safely as much as possible. The use of muscles will actually prevent falls in the long term. Again, if someone is dizzy, always get checked out by your medical provider. If they don't talk about the inner ear, then I would definitely bring it up and say I've heard that people can get these crystals lodged in this bone and it can cause problems. The reason that I tell people to look at that first is it's a simple problem to fix. Probably a little simpler problem to fix is if they're just on medication that makes them dizzy. They can just change the medication. Always take dizziness seriously. Don't be afraid to look for a solution. All information is meant for informational purposes only and is not meant to replace medical advice.
Thank you for listening to this podcast knowledge for caregivers. You can check out my website, Cathy's consulting.com or send me any questions at my email info at Cathy's consulting.com Do not forget to leave me a review of this podcast or