Balance Problem in Individuals with Normal Hearing Across Age Groups - A Behavioural Study.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study was done to find the hidden balance problem in individuals across age groups using perceptual measure (Dizziness Index of Impairment in Activities of Daily Living Scale questionnaire, DII-ADL) and vestibulospinal-cerebellar function tests (Sharpened Romberg test, Fukuda stepping test, Tandem gait test, and Finger-to-nose test). Methods: A total of 150 individuals in three age groups, young adults (20-40 years), middle-aged adults (40-60 years), and older adults (> 60 years) were considered. All the individuals had normal hearing sensitivity with no reported perceptual balance issues. DII-ADL questionnaire, Sharpened Romberg test, Fukuda stepping test, Tandem gait test, and Finger-to-nose test were administered to all the participants. Results: Balance disturbances were observed in all three age groups. The symptoms and test findings showed increased abnormality with the increase in age. DII-ADL questionnaire suggests older adults have more difficulty performing activities of daily living than young and middle-aged adults. The sharpened Romberg test result showed a moderate negative correlation and the Fukuda stepping test showed a moderate positive correlation with the sections of the DII-ADL questionnaire. Conclusion: Individuals of any age can have difficulty performing activities of daily living even though they do not have evident balance disorder perceptually. Thus there is a need to spread awareness among professionals and emphasize the need for screening individuals across age groups for balance disturbances. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-022-03459-6.