Dizziness in the elderly is quite common and is usually not serious. However, dizziness can significantly increase the risk of falls in the elderly, which can have serious consequences. Falls are very dangerous for the elderly because their bodies are more susceptible to injury and can be much harder to recover from as they age.
Based on symptoms, dizziness can be divided into 2 types:
- Acute dizziness, which usually develops in less than 1-2 months
- Chronic dizziness, which usually develops within 1-2 months.
Dizziness can happen to anyone, from young children to the elderly. The difference is that in older people, this condition takes longer to recover than in younger people, due to body degeneration and accompanying diseases. Here, we mainly discuss people with chronic dizziness.
Chronic dizziness in the elderly is associated with many other diseases or functional impairments such as: Higher risk of falling.
Limited ability to perform daily activities, Low blood pressure after standing up, Cerebrovascular disease, …. If this condition becomes chronic without proper treatment, it can lead to depression in the elderly because they will be haunted by the fear that they may fall and start worrying about their illness. At that time, they will become more withdrawn. This will eventually affect their quality of life.
To minimize the risk of dizziness in the elderly, you should pay attention to 9 common causes of dizziness in the elderly to have the earliest and most effective treatment, including:
- Ear diseases such as Meniere’s disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), benign tumors or acoustic neuromas, inner ear infections or labyrinthitis, side effects of some medications on the auditory nerve system.
- Neurological disorders such as transient and permanent ischemic stroke, Parkinson’s disease, some migraine conditions
- Problems around the neck in the elderly such as degenerative disc disease, jugular vein stenosis or plaque buildup in the neck arteries can cause dizziness when turning the head too quickly because it can cause temporary blockage of blood vessels.
- Postural hypotension. Currently, there is no formal research on diagnosis for the elderly. Therefore, in Thailand, we use the same current principles as for patients in other age groups. It is interesting to find some international studies indicating that orthostatic hypotension is not necessarily accompanied by dizziness. Therefore, there may be other causes of dizziness in the elderly when standing.
- Postprandial hypotension occurs when blood pressure drops by 20mmHg when sitting or standing 1-2 hours after a meal.
- Psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks or obsessive-compulsive disorder in the elderly – all can cause dizziness. The most common disorder is depression, which can be both a cause and a result of dizziness.
- Side effects of medications can cause dizziness due to many reactions to blood pressure medications, diuretics, anticonvulsants, heart medications, allergy medications, antibiotics, sleeping pills and psychiatric medications, etc.
- Eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration.
- Other medical conditions such as hypertension, hypothyroidism, anemia, electrolyte imbalance, lipid disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.
