Dizziness is one of the most frequent causes of medical consultation in primary care: 4 out of 10 people will suffer an episode of vertigo during their lifetime.
Vertigo is the symptom resulting from a malfunction of the balance system located in the inner ear or its connections at brain level. It is, therefore, a patrology to be treated by a specialist in otorhinolaryngology. The typical form of manifestation is acute crises in which the patient is suddenly unable to stand upright with an intense sensation of spinning, nausea and vomiting. When the alteration is maintained chronically, the clinical manifestation is less striking but equally disabling, since the patient presents a chronic instability that limits his quality of life and predisposes him to falls.
Treatment for vertigo
In our specialty there has been an important advance in the technology that allows us to diagnose vertigo. We have computerized dynamic posturography (Neurocom’s Smart Balance Master), a cutting-edge technology that measures the patient’s response to the movement of the platform and thus analyzes his posture computerized, which allows us to diagnose his degree of balance. In addition, in the classic videonystagmography equipment, we have the most advanced cephalic impulse system (VHIT by Otometrics) with which we can measure the responses of the inner ear to high-speed movements, similar to those we perform on a daily basis. In this way, we can bring our analysis methods closer to what the patient actually feels. This system has proved to be a turning point in the history of vertigo screening.
Our ability to choose the right therapy is based on the scheduling of sufficient consultation times that allow us to listen to the patient and perform the widest possible battery of tests. The appropriate application of the right drug or the most advanced surgical techniques are within the usual services of an advanced otoneurology unit, being able to free the patient from vertigo crises that prevent him/her from planning his/her life freely.
Chronic instability, gait disorders and fall prevention in the elderly are the second major field of action of a balance pathology unit. A complex rehabilitation program programmed after diagnosis and carried out by specialized physiotherapists is changing the expectations of many patients with complex balance disorders who, until now, were forced to reduce their movement dynamics, adopt protective measures against falls and, therefore, lose quality of life.
Dizziness, a common pathology
Pathologies of the inner ear are the ones that most affect the human dimension of the individual, as they have a direct impact on their ability to communicate and their functionality when standing upright. It is estimated that 4 out of 10 people will suffer an episode of vertigo during their lifetime. However, in most hospitals there is an inexplicable disproportion between the frequency of the vertigo-imbalance symptom and the amount of time and means used to treat it. A unit specializing in this pathology with the appropriate means achieves satisfactory results in patients who until now were forced to a long pilgrimage through different specialties with poor results.