Dizziness and feeling off balance are symptoms that affect over a third of Canadians over their lifetime (Balance & Dizziness Canada). While common, many people don’t associate these symptoms with possible hearing-related concerns say Sunnybrook audiologists Josie Andres and Melania Lebed. They break down what you need to know, and explain how Sunnybrook provides essential care for this issue.
How are balance and dizziness linked to hearing?
The inner ear may be small, but it’s complex! It’s home to the vestibular system and the auditory system. The vestibular system has motion sensors that help us stay balanced and perceive movement, while the auditory system has hearing sensors that allow us to perceive sound. Both of these systems share nerve and blood supply pathways, so they are very interconnected. This means that many people affected by conditions of the inner ear can experience both hearing and balance symptoms, like hearing loss, dizziness, imbalance and tinnitus.
Is it often overlooked that balance and dizziness can be tied to hearing?
Absolutely. Patients often ask why we are testing their hearing when they come for balance testing. Generally, hearing health is overlooked as many people don’t get a hearing test until they have experienced several years of hearing difficulty or are persuaded by a family member or significant other to get checked.
Hearing impairment can also contribute to reduced environmental awareness and localization which can affect balance and movement. For example, hearing someone walking up from behind you or calling your name from your right or left. Also, hearing the acoustics in a room improves your understanding of your surroundings. Overall, hearing impairment can increase confusion about your surroundings and is linked to an increased risk of falls.
Which conditions can affect the health of the inner ear?
There are many, but here are some of the most common:
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV): inner ear crystals dislodge and their movement causes vertigo/dizziness symptoms
- Meniere’s disease: fluid builds up in the inner ear structure often affecting both hearing and balance systems
- Vestibular neuritis: inflammation happens in the balance system nerve
- Labyrinthitis: inflammation of the inner ear affects both balance and hearing systems
- Superior semicircular canal dehiscence: a hole or thinning of the bone surrounding the inner ear
- Vestibular schwannoma: a tumor on the balance system nerve
How can balance and dizziness affect everyday life?
Dizziness and balance symptoms can range from mild to severe. Mild symptoms may mean you avoid specific activities, like bending over. Severe symptoms can result in a detrimental loss of abilities across all activities of daily living, including walking, bathing, lying down, getting up, using stairs, exercising, driving, concentrating, reading and working. In addition to the physical challenges, this can also place a huge burden on your mental health.
Dizziness is also a major risk for falls. In fact, adults with some form of inner-ear dysfunction are up to 12 times more likely to have a serious fall (Balance & Dizziness Canada). That’s why people experiencing dizziness or falling should absolutely be referred for testing.
What kind of testing and treatment is offered at Sunnybrook?
We have a team of audiologists that assess you and determine which parts of the ears are impaired. These assessment results are important for your physician to determinea diagnosis, treatment plan, or need for further testing.
A number of hearing tests are used to measure hearing sensitivity to a variety of sounds for each ear, and also check how well the ear drum is functioning. You need a referral from a family doctor for this type of testing.
Our team also offers many different types of balance tests. Most of these tests use goggles with built in eye-tracking cameras. Our tests compare eye and head movements during visual tasks. Some tests also stimulate the motion sensors of the ear with water or air to measure and compare the results from each ear. An ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician or neurologist referral is needed for the full diagnostic balance assessment.
In addition, we have added a new balance screening program to our available services. Audiologists screen patients for the most common dizziness and balance issues and provide them with education to help them manage their symptoms. To access this service, you need a referral from a family doctor.
If you’re interested in doing a quick hearing test at home, use this online tool. It only takes five minutes to complete, and is brought to you from Sunnybrook’s audiology services department and Shoebox.
