STRATEGIES TO REDUCE DIZZINESS IN OLDER ADULTS

Midwestern University, Downers Grove IL

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION:(adapted from applicant's abstract) Dizziness is the most common presenting complaint of ambulatory care patients aged 75 years and older. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common cause of dizziness in the elderly, accounting for 26 percent of all dizziness. Recently there have been striking improvements in the nonsurgical treatment of BPPV. A better understanding of the cause of BPPV led to the development of positional exercises. The canalith repositioning procedure is one of the most commonly used maneuvers in the United States with the average success rate being 76 percent following one treatment session. Although treatment is very effective BPPV often recurs. In a previous study the investigators found the rate of recurrence to be 47 percent when patients were followed for up to five years. The majority of recurrence occurred with in the first two years, with the rate of recurrence being 44 percent. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a daily routine of Brandt-Daroff exercises will increase significantly the time to recur and/or reduce the rate of recurrence of BPPV. The investigators will identify 100 patients diagnosed with BPPV and treated successfully from the Otolaryngology Clinic of Northwestern University Medical Faculty Foundation. Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of two groups and followed for two years. Group 1 will perform no exercises; while group 2 will perform the Brandt-Daroff exercises one time per day. The time to recur and rate of recurrence of BPPV will be determined between the groups and identification of factors associated with recurrence of the groups will be determined. The investigators predict that a daily routine of Brandt-Daroff exercises will significantly reduce recurrence of BPPV.