If you are experiencing dizziness, unsteadiness or balance problems you are not alone. It is estimated that over 50% of the American adult population will experience dizziness or suffer from
balance problems during their lifetime!
A joint paper between the American Geriatric Society and the American Society of Orthopedic Surgeons concluded that all patients over the age of 55 should be screened to determine their risk for falling.
Falls are the number one cause of accidental death and the number one reason for hospital admission for people over age 65. More than one-third of adults 65 years and older fall each year. Most falls occur because people have a balance disorder. However, the majority of people who have a problem with balance are totally unaware of it.
The Balance Center at Underwood offers the clinical expertise, state of the art technology and a highly skilled staff devoted to helping your physician diagnose the cause of your balance disorder and developing an effective treatment plan.
Our medical director is P. Todd Rowan, M.D., otolaryngologist.
Balance Disorder Testing
- Nystagmography is a series of tests that measure a person’s ability to follow visual objects with their eyes and how effectively their eyes respond to some types of information from their vestibular or balance system.
- Ocular Motility testing will allow us to determine any slowness or inaccuracies in a person's ability to follow visual targets as they follow, with their eyes, objects that jump from place to place or move smoothly.
- Optokinetic Nystagmus requires patients to view a large, continuously moving visual image to determine if their eyes can appropriately track these movements.
- Positional Nystagmus is a test in which our technician will move the patient’s head and body into various positions to make sure that there are no inappropriate movements of the patient’s eyes when their head is in different positions.
- Caloric Testing allows us to stimulate the patient’s inner ear,usually,one at a time with warm and then cooler air.The technician monitors the movements of the patient’s eyes to make sure that the patient can sense this stimulation in both ears.
The Balance Center at UMH may be able to help you if you have experienced any of the following balance disorder symptoms:
- difficulty getting up from a chair or out of bed
- numbness or loss of sensation in your legs
- trouble walking up or down inclined surfaces
- a loss of balance or unsteadiness when walking or standing still
- feeling dizzy or light-headed
- needing to lean on something when walking
- dizziness when turning over in bed
- dizziness when watching a moving object
Balance Testing is Recommended for People Who:
- use a cane or walker
- have fallen more than once in the last year
- currently take more than two (2) prescription medications
- have frequent headaches or migraines
- experience ringing, buzzing or other sounds in their ear(s)
- have been knocked unconscious
- have suffered a stroke
- have suffered head or neck trauma
- experience blurred or double vision
- experience increased sensitivity to light and/or sound
Another helpful resource is: Balance Center Online
The Balance Center is located within Underwood-Memorial’s spacious and modern Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. To schedule an appointment or for more information contact The Balance Center by calling 800-632-6807.