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Dizziness in older adults can lead to imbalance and place seniors at a higher risk for falls in their homes.
Ear Disorders Can Lead to Senior Falls
By Brian Jackson from the Home Instead Senior Care office San Jose, CA.
Q. As the adult daughter of an 80-year-old widowed father, I have read that one of the biggest risks to a senior's safety is falls. What causes them and how can I help protect my aging dad?
Inner ear disorders - often called vestibular disorders - are a common cause of dizziness in older adults, which can lead to imbalance and place seniors at a higher risk for falls, according to a recent study.
An estimated 35 percent of U.S. adults age 40 and older have vestibular dysfunction and it only gets worse with aging, according to a report in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Yuri Agrawal, M.D., and colleagues at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 5,086 adults who participated in the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
Participants completed a balance questionnaire, which determined history of dizziness and falls, and underwent in-person balance testing that involved standing on different surfaces under varying conditions (for instance, with their eyes closed).
As determined by these tests, the overall prevalence of vestibular dysfunction in the U.S. population aged 40 and older from 2001 through 2004 was 35.4 percent. "Odds of vestibular dysfunction increased significantly with age, were 40.3 percent lower in individuals with more than a high school education and were 70 percent higher among people with diabetes mellitus," the authors wrote.
Individuals with vestibular dysfunction were more likely to report having dizziness and a history of falls. The 26.8 percent of participants who had symptoms of vestibular dysfunction, including dizziness, had an eight-fold increase in the odds of falling.
Encourage your father to get a complete physical examination and make sure that he asks about ear and hearing issues or balance problems that he might be experiencing. If he is having hearing issues, ask him to take you or someone else along on his appointment.
If you feel your dad is unsafe at home, having a caregiver/companion with him, even a few hours a day, could help put you both at ease. ContactHome Instead Senior Carefor more information.
To learn more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact Brian Jackson at 408-370-6360. For more information about the study, log on to Publications of AMA Association.
Read more tips and information about elder care in San Jose.
Article donated by Brian Jackson at Home Instead Senior Care in San Jose.
