I<\/span>f you or someone you know has fallen, you are not alone. One in three adults over 65 years old fall each year. Falls can have serious consequences, including broken bones, concussions, and long-term health care management issues.<\/p>\n Most U.S. adults are aware of the possible consequences and have seen information on falls in many public awareness campaigns on television, online, and in magazines. Understanding that falls can have serious consequences has led many adults to fear falling. Fear of falling may lead to the avoidance of physical or social activities that are deemed riskier.<\/p>\n Balance is complex and requires sensory information from our eyes, inner ears, and sense of touch. All of this information must be processed and synchronized in the brain so that we stay in control of our balance as we navigate the world.<\/p>\n When the balance system is altered, either due to changes in sensory input or in how the brain processes this information, an individual is more likely to fall.<\/p>\n Anyone can fall. Falls can be due to our risk factors, our environment, or a combination of many factors.<\/p>\n Some falls occur due to an accident, such as tripping over a misplaced item on the floor or an unfamiliar rug. The majority of accidental falls can be prevented.<\/p>\n Awareness of your environment can reduce the majority of accidental falls. Be mindful of tripping hazards such as misplaced items in walkways, and make sure you have good vision. This includes turning on lights if you need to move through the house at night and wearing prescribed glasses or contact lenses\u2014even if you\u2019re familiar with the environment.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve noticed a change in your vision, be sure to have your eyes checked and wear any prescribed lenses.<\/p>\n Some of these causes can be managed with help from your health care providers. Health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and numbness in your feet are often associated with an increased risk of falling. These conditions affect the whole body.<\/p>\n For example, when patients with heart conditions stand up quickly, they may experience lightheadedness and imbalance. A quick position change can cause blood pressure to drop. This can be prevented by standing slowly and pausing to make sure any dizziness has passed.<\/p>\n If this is common for you, consider checking for changes in your blood pressure whenever you stand up. There are many treatment options for this condition\u2014depending on the cause\u2014and your health care provider can help you find which is most appropriate for you.<\/p>\n Medications are a common cause of dizziness. Common medications that can cause dizziness and imbalance include antidepressants, antiseizure drugs, high blood pressure drugs, sedatives, and tranquilizers.<\/p>\n Medications used to reduce dizziness are also associated with balance problems. Health care providers also consider how many medications someone is taking, knowing that more medications typically means more fall risk. If you notice dizziness or a change in your balance after you start taking or change a medication, your health care provider or pharmacist can help.<\/p>\n Always tell your health care provider if you\u2019ve had a fall since your last visit, even if you weren\u2019t injured. A fall could be related to a change in your health. Your health care provider can help learn how to better reduce your medical risk factors for falling.<\/p>\n The good news is that most falls can be prevented; you have control over many of the reasons people experience a fall.<\/p>\n The most important thing you can do is to stay physically active. Regular exercise helps build muscles and maintain flexibility. It\u2019s easy to lose muscle conditioning, especially with an illness or hospitalization. Find an exercise program that is right for you to reduce muscle weakness.<\/p>\n A good diet is also important for reducing fall risk. Make sure you stay well hydrated and eat well. It is important that you get enough protein, vitamin D, and calcium in your diet to help keep your muscles and bones strong.<\/p>\n Consider limiting your alcohol consumption. Alcohol impairs balance function and can make you feel dizzy. Even in small amounts, your risk for falling increases.<\/p>\n Poor sleep is a contributor to falling and, unfortunately, is a common problem in adults. Not getting enough sleep or using medications to treat poor sleep can increase your risk. If you aren\u2019t getting good sleep or wake up feeling unrested, consult your health care provider on strategies to consider.<\/p>\n Your shoes play a big role in your balance. Shoes that provide good support and nonslip soles provide the most stability. High heels can be challenging for balance. Also, take care when wearing socks or slippers, especially on stairs or tile floors.<\/p>\n Be aware of your surroundings. Wet, icy, or unstable surfaces, such as gravel walkways, can be slippery.<\/p>\n Hearing changes are often associated with increased falls. Adults with hearing loss are more than twice as likely to fall as adults without hearing loss. Although research is still developing, some studies have found that amplification devices, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, have reduced fall risk.<\/p>\n Scientists believe that there may be several reasons for this. First, the hearing organ is housed in a capsule with five other sensory organs. These other organs are balance organs. When hearing loss is present, it is more likely that changes have also happened to the balance organs. If the vestibular organs are not functioning as they should, the brain is not getting needed information for balance.<\/p>\n Another explanation is that if someone is spending more effort to hear and understand, there is less processing power available for balance, leaving the individual more at risk for a fall. Finally, we use our hearing to localize sound. This means that our hearing plays a role in understanding where we are in our environment.<\/p>\n When we lose these hearing cues, we also lose some of this ability.<\/p>\n Fall risk is a common concern for adults. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to take control of your risk and reduce your likelihood of falling.<\/p>\n If you have concerns about falls, there are many health care providers who can help you troubleshoot more fall-prevention strategies, including your physician, pharmacist, and vision and hearing and balance specialists.<\/p>\n For more information or to find an audiologist, go to howsyourhearing.org<\/a>.\u00a0For more information on balance awareness, visit audiology.org\/get-involved\/public-awareness\/balance-awareness-week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Exploring relationship between balance and hearing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2020","category-winter-2020-columns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9613"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9867,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9613\/revisions\/9867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Common Risk Factors To Consider<\/h3>\n
What Can I Do To Prevent Falling?<\/h3>\n
How Does Hearing Loss Lead to Falling?<\/h3>\n
Jamie M. Bogle, Au.D., Ph.D., is the division chair of audiology and a clinical audiologist with the Mayo Clinic Arizona, department of otorhinolaryngology: head and neck surgery. She is also a member of the American Academy of Audiology Board of Directors.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"