Problems With Balance? Symptoms and Causes

​Problems with balance can make you feel dizzy, as if the room is spinning, unstable, or you are lightheaded.  These feelings can happen whether lying down, sitting, or standing.

Problems With Balance?  Symptoms and Causes
By Pierre Mouchette | Bits-n-Pieces

Many body systems, including the muscles, bones, joints, eyes, the balance organ in the inner ear, nerves, heart, and blood vessels, need to work for you to have normal balance.  When these systems are not performing well, you can experience balance problems.  Many medical conditions may also cause balance problems.  Still, most balance problems result from issues within the balance organ in the inner ear (vestibular system).
 
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of balance problems include:

• A feeling of faintness or lightheadedness (presyncope)
• Confusion
• Falling or feeling like you might fall
• Feeling a floating sensation or dizziness
• Loss of balance or unsteadiness
• Sense of motion or spinning (vertigo)
• Vision changes, such as blurriness

 
Causes
Several conditions can cause balance problems and are usually associated with a specific sign or indicator.
 
A feeling of motion or spinning (vertigo)
Vertigo can be associated with many conditions, including:

• Acoustic neuroma:  A noncancerous (benign), slow-growing tumor that develops on a nerve that affects hearing and balance.  You may experience dizziness or loss of balance, but the most frequent symptoms are hearing loss and ringing in the ear.  Acoustic neuroma is a rare condition!
  
  
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV):  BPPV happens when calcium crystals in the inner ear (help to control balance) are dislodged from their normal positions and then move elsewhere in the inner ear.  BPPV is a common cause of vertigo in adults.  Along with BPPV, you may experience a rotating feeling when turning in bed or tilting your head back to look up.
  
  
• Head injury:  You may experience vertigo due to a concussion or other head injury.
  
  
• Meniere's disease:  Besides sudden and severe vertigo, Meniere's disease can cause fluctuating hearing loss, buzzing, ringing, or a feeling of fullness in the ear.  The underlying cause of Meniere's disease is not entirely known.  The disease is rare and typically develops in people between 20 and 40.
  
  
• Migraine:  Dizziness and sensitivity to a movement (vestibular migraine) may occur due to a migraine.  Migraine is a common cause of dizziness.
  
  
• Motion sickness:  You could experience dizziness in boats, cars, airplanes, or amusement park rides.  Motion sickness is commonplace in people with migraines.
  
  
• Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness:  This disorder often occurs with other types of vertigo.  Symptoms include shakiness or a sensation of motion in the head.  These symptoms frequently worsen when watching objects move, when reading, or when in a visually complex environment like a shopping mall.  It is the third most common disorder in adults.
  
  
• Ramsay Hunt syndrome:  Otherwise known as the herpes zoster oticus, occurs when a shingles-like infection affects the facial, auditory, and vestibular nerves close to one of your ears.  You might experience vertigo, ear pain, facial weakness, and hearing loss.
  
  
• Vestibular neuritis:  An inflammatory disorder, most likely triggered by a virus, can affect nerves within the balance portion of the inner ear.  Symptoms frequently are severe and persistent and include nausea and difficulty walking.  These symptoms can last several days and gradually improve without treatment.  It is a common disorder second to BPPV in adults.

 
The feeling of faintness or lightheadedness
Lightheadedness can be associated with the following:

• Cardiovascular disease:  Abnormal heart rhythms (heart arrhythmia), reduced or blocked blood vessels, a thickened heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), or a decreased blood volume can reduce blood flow and cause lightheadedness and fainting feeling.
  
  
• Hemodynamic orthostatic hypotension (postural hypotension):  Standing or sitting up too fast may cause some people to experience a significant drop in blood pressure, resulting in a feeling lightheaded or faint.

 
Loss of balance or unsteadiness
Losing balance while walking, or feeling imbalanced, can result from the following:

• Certain neurological conditions:  These could include cervical spondylosis and Parkinson's disease.
  
  
• Joint, muscle, or vision problems:  Weak muscles and unstable joints may contribute to loss of balance.  Problems with eyesight can also result in wobbliness.
  
  
• Medications:  A loss of balance or unsteadiness can be a side effect of drugs.
  
  
• Nerve damage to legs (peripheral neuropathy):  This damage can lead to difficulties with walking.
  
  
• Vestibular problems:  Abnormalities in the inner ear can trigger a sensation of a floating or heavy head and unsteadiness in the dark.

 
Dizziness
A sensation of dizziness or lightheadedness can result from:

• Abnormally rapid breathing (hyperventilation):  This condition often accompanies anxiety disorders and may cause lightheadedness.
  
  
• Inner ear problems:  An abnormality of the vestibular system could lead to a sensation of floating or a false sensation of motion.
  
  
• Medications:  Lightheadedness could be a side effect of medications taken.
  
  
• Psychiatric disorders:  Depression, anxiety, and other disorders may cause dizziness.