Balance Clinic

Dizziness, balance problems and vertigo are among the most common symptoms causing patients to seek help from physicians. Everyone feels dizzy sometimes. Dizziness is a normal feeling that we get when our brain receives inconsistent messages from our ears, eyes and proprioceptive system (sense of the relative position of neighboring parts of the body). We feel dizzy for various reasons and in many ordinary situations. For example, children enjoy spinning round and round until they’re dizzy and fall over or feel sick. Some feel dizzy when they stand up quickly, when they move their head briskly or after long flights or rides. Many of us feel as though we are moving backward when sitting in a car and a bus next to ours moves forward. These are daily reasons for feeling dizzy, and people are not usually worried about them because the effects are temporary and the symptoms disappear swiftly. However, feeling dizzy for a prolonged time and for no clear reason is an extremely dreadful experience that affects many aspects of patients’ lives and may put them in danger.

It is well known that patients frequently have difficulty describing their symptoms and use the “dizzy” word to describe a wide range of feelings. For example for some, dizziness is a feeling of unsteadiness, disequilibrium, or light headedness, for others it is a spinning sensation. Dizziness may be a momentary sensation or prolonged and its intense symptoms could be a result of a wide range of health problems some of which are serious. Thus, if you or someone you know has a balance problem, take it seriously. Talk to our specialists about what happens when you feel dizzy or lose your balance. Be as specific as possible when describing your experience of dizziness.

The first step to getting better is the proper diagnosis!