Vertigo Case Studies
Senior Caregiver Support and Vertigo Treatments
Nearly three-quarters of seniors over 65 have bouts of dizziness known as vertigo. The most common form of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV experiences are usually short and not serious in and of themselves, but if they cause a senior to lose their balance and fall, the injuries from the fall could be extreme.
Those who suffer from dizziness often feel as if their head is spinning. With vertigo, it feels as if everything else is spinning, swaying, or tilting away from them. Dizziness and vertigo can be caused by many things, but the initial symptoms are usually the same.
Light-headedness Feeling faint Unsteadiness Loss of Balance
These signs normally go away …show more content…
after 15 seconds or so, but they can last longer and cause additional problems such as:
Inability to walk Nausea Vomiting Headaches
Odd eye movement Loss of hearing Falling Difficulty speaking
BPPV is the most common form of vertigo.
According to WebMD, it is caused by small calcium carbonate crystals that are normally found in the inner ear. If the crystals get dislodged and make their way to the ear's semi-circular canal they can disrupt the normal fluid motion in the canals, which lead to inaccurate signals being sent to the brain.
The good news is that BPPV can be cured by putting the crystals back where they belong. While this could require surgery, this is the exception instead of the rule. In most case, a doctor can show the person suffering from BPPV a series of maneuvers that are done to guide the crystals back to where they are supposed to be using gravity. This series of "Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers" have a very high rate of success.
If the vertigo has a cause other than BPPV, then other treatments are necessary. Some of the other causes of vertigo include migraines, Meniere's syndrome, and vascular events such as strokes.
Meniere's syndrome and strokes are both most prevalent in seniors over 55 years of age. Meniere's syndrome features a significant and fast loss of hearing, major ringing in the ears, and extreme vertigo. The cure is often a series of special medications, a special diet, and injections of the drug gentamicin past the eardrums. According to vestibular.org, this treatment is 90 percent
effective.
The key to treatment is to find out the underlying cause of vertigo. If your senior loved one is experiencing dizziness or vertigo, make an appointment with an audiologist as soon as possible. With early identification, most vertigo can be treated before it leads to more serious conditions.
Nearly three-quarters of seniors over 65 have bouts of dizziness known as vertigo. The most common form of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV experiences are usually short and not serious in and of themselves, but if they cause a senior to lose their balance and fall, the injuries from the fall could be extreme.
Those who suffer from dizziness often feel as if their head is spinning. With vertigo, it feels as if everything else is spinning, swaying, or tilting away from them. Dizziness and vertigo can be caused by many things, but the initial symptoms are usually the same.
Light-headedness Feeling faint Unsteadiness Loss of Balance
These signs normally go away …show more content…
after 15 seconds or so, but they can last longer and cause additional problems such as:
Inability to walk Nausea Vomiting Headaches
Odd eye movement Loss of hearing Falling Difficulty speaking
BPPV is the most common form of vertigo.
According to WebMD, it is caused by small calcium carbonate crystals that are normally found in the inner ear. If the crystals get dislodged and make their way to the ear's semi-circular canal they can disrupt the normal fluid motion in the canals, which lead to inaccurate signals being sent to the brain.
The good news is that BPPV can be cured by putting the crystals back where they belong. While this could require surgery, this is the exception instead of the rule. In most case, a doctor can show the person suffering from BPPV a series of maneuvers that are done to guide the crystals back to where they are supposed to be using gravity. This series of "Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers" have a very high rate of success.
If the vertigo has a cause other than BPPV, then other treatments are necessary. Some of the other causes of vertigo include migraines, Meniere's syndrome, and vascular events such as strokes.
Meniere's syndrome and strokes are both most prevalent in seniors over 55 years of age. Meniere's syndrome features a significant and fast loss of hearing, major ringing in the ears, and extreme vertigo. The cure is often a series of special medications, a special diet, and injections of the drug gentamicin past the eardrums. According to vestibular.org, this treatment is 90 percent
effective.
The key to treatment is to find out the underlying cause of vertigo. If your senior loved one is experiencing dizziness or vertigo, make an appointment with an audiologist as soon as possible. With early identification, most vertigo can be treated before it leads to more serious conditions.