Why does a disturbance of the sense of balance lead to dizziness? | The sense of balance

Why does a disturbance of the sense of balance lead to dizziness?

Dizziness is caused by contradictory information that is passed on to the brain from the various sensory organs. The sensory organs include the eyes, the two organs of equilibrium in the inner ear and the position sensors (proprioceptors) in the joints and muscles. All this information converges in the brain stem and cerebellum and unconsciously tells us our position in space.

If one of these systems fails or provides false information, the brain cannot interpret this and dizziness or vomiting is triggered. The best way to illustrate this is the famous seasickness. While the organ of equilibrium in the inner ear detects the strong fluctuations of the ship as strong movements of the body in all directions of space, the eyes convey an unmoving, static environment, for example, inside the ship. This provides contradictory information that the brain cannot classify. This leads to dizziness in those affected.

Which diseases disturb the sense of balance?

Balance disorders can either be directly caused by diseases of the vestibular organ in the inner ear or occur as a consequence of another organ disease or injury. Diseases that directly affect the sense of balance include inflammation of the inner ear, Meniere’s disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, inflammation of the vestibular nerve (neuritis vestibularis), a tumor between the cerebellum and the auditory canal (e.g. acoustic neuroma), or dehiscence of the arch (disease of the bony arch).The disorders and diseases that affect the sense of balance in the further course of the disease include electrolyte disorders, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, head injuries such as craniocerebral trauma or concussion, sunstroke and heat stroke, toxins and stimulants (such as alcohol), meningitis and encephalitis or circulatory disorders, for example after a stroke. These articles may also be of interest to you:

  • What is Meniere’s disease?
  • What is a paroxysmal positional vertigo?
  • What is an acoustic neuroma?

All articles in this series:

  1. The sense of balance
  2. Examination of the organ of equilibrium
  3. Why does a disturbance of the sense of balance lead to dizziness?