Acoustic neuroma: A benign tumor growing on the vestibulo-cochlear nerve.Disequilibrium: Unsteadiness, imbalance, or loss of equilibrium often accompanied by spatial disorientation.Other illnesses, as well as genetic and environmental factors, may also cause or contribute to vestibular disorders. Vestibular dysfunction is most commonly caused by head injury, aging, and viral infection. When the vestibular system malfunctions, it can no longer help resolve moments of sensory conflict, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, and disequilibrium. Just as a courtroom judge must rule between two sides presenting competing evidence, the vestibular system serves as the tie-breaker between conflicting forms of sensory information. However, compensating for vestibular system abnormalities is more problematic. When sitting in a car at a railroad crossing, seeing a passing train may cause the sensation of drifting or moving, and feeling a soft, thick carpet underfoot as opposed to a solid wood floor can produce a floating sensation. Mixed signals from vision or proprioception can usually be tolerated. The perception of movement or whirling – either of the self or surrounding objects.Ī healthy vestibular system supplies the most reliable information about spatial orientation. In response, feedback messages are sent to the eyes to help maintain steady vision and to the muscles to help maintain posture and balance. Sensory input from these three systems is integrated and processed by the brain stem. Proprioception (touch sensors in the feet, trunk, and spine). The body maintains balance with sensory information from three systems: It is also quite possible that a person may have a combination of problems, such as a degenerative vestibular disorder along with a visual deficit such as cataracts or a neurological disorder such as a stroke.īecause of the many possible causes of dizziness, getting a correct diagnosis can be a long and frustrating experience. By contrast, dizziness can be a primary sign of a vestibular disorder in addition to a broad array of cardiovascular, neurological, metabolic, vision, and psychological problems. However, frequent episodes of vertigo-whether lasting only for a few seconds or days on end-are a primary sign of a vestibular dysfunction, especially when linked to changes in head position. For example, when a person watches a 3-D movie in the theater and momentarily perceives an illusion of moving or falling as the images rush past. Dizziness does not involve a rotational component.Īlmost everyone experiences a few seconds of spatial disorientation at some point. DizzinessĪ sensation of lightheadedness, faintness, or unsteadiness. Disequilibrium simply means unsteadiness, imbalance, or loss of equilibrium that is often accompanied by spatial disorientation. Unlike dizziness, vertigo has a rotational, spinning component, and is the perception of movement, either of the self or surrounding objects. Dizziness is a sensation of lightheadedness, faintness, or unsteadiness. Although these three symptoms can be linked by a common cause, they have different meanings, and describing them accurately can mean the difference between a successful diagnosis and one that is missed. They are all symptoms that can result from a peripheral vestibular disorder (a dysfunction of the balance organs of the inner ear) or central vestibular disorder (a dysfunction of one or more parts of the central nervous system that help process balance and spatial information). Dizziness, vertigo and disequilibrium are common symptoms reported by adults during visits to their doctors.
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