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AquaBlue

AquaBlue

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Why does deafness not effect balance in a deaf individual?


The vestibular (balance) system is made up of five organs that are housed in the inner ear (labyrinth). These so-called vestibular organs are the three semicircular canals, the saccule, and the utricle. (The saccule and the utricle make up the vestibule). The semicircular canals are responsible for the detection of rotation (angular acceleration). In contrast, the saccule and utricle are responsible for the detection of straight-line (linear) acceleration and gravity.
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It does. I have very poor balance as do several other deaf people whom I know.

It does not affect every deaf person, but a certain percent certainly are.
 
Some it does, some it doesn't. If a person has enlarged vestibular aquaduct (EVAS or LVA) I hear that that causes balance issues, whereas Connexin 26, does not. It depends on the reason for the hearing loss. My daughter's loss is caused by ototoxic drugs, her balance is AWESOME!
 
Aqua- it depends on the pathology the individual suffers from causing the deafness, as well as the etiology (causative).

I do not personally suffer from balance issues, but some tinnitus.
 
I have problem with my balance and I could not walk straight. I walk almost like a drunk. I have this ever since I was born. I learned how to walk but looked down on the ground or sidewalk for balance when I was barely four or five years old. I crawled a lot before I was four or five years old. Yes, my hearing loss went off balance. It is the same with eyes if they are not twenty/twenty vision. I guess there is a science of gravity that we all have to walk straight or not. :hmm:
 
I lose balance rarely but when I was a kid, I did lose balance sometimes.
 
I walk like I'm drunk when it's dark both inside and outside. I experienced a weird thing once when it snowed a lot and I was looking down at the ground in my back yard a little too long, I started to fall forward and went in the snow face first-couldn't help it, it was such a weird feeling, disoriented. Luckily I don't think anyone saw me.
 
I lose my balance at nights. I love full moon cuz I do not fall down and hit the ground. :)
 
So if you lose your balance at night, then balance has something to do with the eyes as well. Correct?
 
I have pretty bad balance, but it has nothing to do with my deafness. It is due to my hip dysplasia.
 
My balance can be terrible sometimes in certain situations and my hearing loss is caused by ototoxic drugs, i guess it depends on the individual
 
My balance is good.... I was a dancer as a kid and as a teen... but not anymore... but I still have good balance, lol.

I don't know if it has to do with it....but my hearing loss was caused by CMV and that resulted having all my hair cells in my ear broken, therefore making me profoundly Deaf.... but I have no idea if that makes a difference of having a good balance or not...
 
Never had a problem with my balance except for when I am trying to walk and chat with someone at night. I dont know if that's related to my deafness or related to the fact that I am not paying attention to where I am walking.
 
I have bad balance as well. Pre-CI it was due to my blindness.

However, my balance gradually worsened as I lost more hearing.

After CI surgery, my problems with balance became severe, but I think part of this is due to the dizziness I used to experience when hearing high frequency sounds with my CIs. Now that 6 high frequency electrodes have been turned off on each CI, my dizziness and balance problems aren't as severe as before.
 
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