Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Dec;13(4):138-140.
doi: 10.1016/j.joto.2018.11.006. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Aging and the peripheral vestibular system

Lingchao Ji  1 , Suoqiang Zhai  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Aging and the peripheral vestibular system

Lingchao Ji et al. J Otol. 2018 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Whereas much has been learned about age-related auditory changes in the inner ear, relatively little is known about the aging effects on the vestibular part of the inner ear-the peripheral vestibular system. Here we review relevant literature with regard to the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction, vestibular functional and structural changes in the elderly. The prevalence of vestibular dysfunction increases with age. Functionally, as age increases, VEMP amplitudes decrease, VEMP thresholds increase, VOR gain of HIT decreases. Due to the complexity of the vestibular system, variations in subject age and measurement techniques, findings in VEMP latency and caloric tests are conflicting. To address this, a direct measure of the peripheral vestibular system should be applied. Structurally, age-related loss in vestibular ganglion and otoconia have been noted; hair cell changes are not well defined; while subcellular changes remain to be explored. Defining how the onset of vestibular dysfunction correlates with structural degeneration will offer insights into the mechanisms underlying vestibular aging.

Keywords: Aging; Vestibular organs.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Agrawal Y., Carey J.P., Della Santina C.C., Schubert M.C., Minor L.B. Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, 2001-2004. Arch. Intern. Med. 2009;169:938–944. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.66. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agrawal Y., Zuniga M.G., Davalos-Bichara M., Schubert M.C., Walston J.D., Hughes J., Carey J.P. Decline in semicircular canal and otolith function with age. Otol. Neurotol. 2012;33:832–839. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e3182545061. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akin F.W., Murnane O.D., Tampas J.W., Clinard C.G. The effect of age on the vestibular evoked myogenic potential and sternocleidomastoid muscle tonic electromyogram level. Ear Hear. 2011;32:617–622. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e318213488e. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anson E.R., Bigelow R.T., Carey J.P., Xue Q.-L., Studenski S., Schubert M.C., Weber K.P., Agrawal Y. Aging increases compensatory saccade amplitude in the video head impulse test. Front. Neurol. 2016;7:113. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2016.00113. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brantberg K., Granath K., Schart N. Age-related changes in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. AUD. 2007;12:247–253. doi: 10.1159/000101332. - DOI - PubMed