Falling is a serious accident for seniors than in any other age groups. This is because older adults tend to break bones when they fall or slip; usually the hip bones. According to statistics almost half of the senior population with hip fracture as a result of accidental falling or slipping, dies in about six months prior to the fall itself. At this alarming rate, health care providers are compelled to seek the root-cause of the problem and in a way prevent seniors from deaths due to this very unfortunate accident.
This is also why exercises that will establish and strengthen an older adult’s balance such as yoga are highly recommended by their physicians and attending doctors. But sometimes, even these exercises couldn’t regain one’s balance and prevent seniors from falling down and injuring themselves.
Last Monday, May 25, 2009, John Hopkins University School of Medicine released a finding that will provide a link to aging and falling risks. Apparently, not because you just reached the age of 40 that you will gradually lose balance; there is a closer link that will provide some sense to it especially if the person feels much younger than his current age.
If you are having some difficulties in hearing or had an inner-ear infection even far back in your childhood days, you have a higher risk of losing balance and falling down when you reach forty. You can even feel this imbalance in your younger years although you must have overlooked it since you still had a stronger footing and faster reflex then. Vestibular dysfunction or inner-ear dysfunction affects half of the American population at any age bracket but doctors didn’t suspect this back then to have an effect on seniors, much less on their falling episodes. They assumed that weakness, vision impairment and gait were the culprits to a senior’s fall.
Vestibular dysfunction affects one’s balance. If you look closely to the ear’s composition, the inner ear is the one responsible for sending signals to the brain which in return stabilizes the person’s balance. When there is a disruption along the line from the ear to the brain, the person’s equilibrium is heavily compromised, exposing the person to increased risk of falling and losing balance.
The study firmly believed that if the senior is aware that he or she is suffering from inner-ear dysfunction, he will be able to prevent falling or protect himself from doing so. Tests for inner-ear dysfunction are available upon request in your doctor’s office and they don’t cause much. Inquire about them now.
