Vestibular System: The Ear Hair You Can’t See
Did you know you have a very special sensor inside your ear called the vestibular system? Like a vestibule in at the entrance of your home, its purpose is to maintain balance in your eyes, head, and standing.
Have you wondered how your smartphone knows which way is up when you turn it? There are tiny gyroscopes telling your phone which way to play your video, or display your next article. Did you know that your vestibular system is like a gyroscope for your body? Your vestibular system tells your body the same message of which way is up, keeping you in balance.
What is the Vestibular System?
Your vestibular system is one of three sensory systems (in addition to the visual and somatosensory systems) that make up your “balance system.” These three systems work in combination with your muscles and bones (“musculoskeletal system”) to keep you upright and enable you to move about the world. That means that if you have dysfunction in your vestibular system it may cause you dizziness and affect your balance.
What Makes up the Vestibular System?
The vestibular system is made up of two structures: 1) Semicircular Canals, and 2) Otolith Organs
Semicircular Canals
The semicircular canals are three bony tubes that form right angles to one another. They are responsible for detecting movement across three primary planes: horizontal, vertical, and roll. Inside of these canals are fluid and very tiny little hair cells called stereocilia. (We’re not talking about the hair growing out of Uncle Joe’s ears.) The fluid, called endolymph, moves when you move; just like water sloshing around in a cup. The movement of the endolymph pushes against the hair cells, which creates a signal to the brain that you are moving.
When these tiny hair cells get pushed by the fluid, they send a message through nerves, which go to the brain to tell you where you are in your environment. When your vestibular system is working properly, and in combination with your visual and somatosensory systems, your brain will interpret which way your body is moving. When you have vestibular dysfunction, your brain receives error messages from these hair cells, creating a sense of an abnormal movement, leading to dizziness symptoms.
Anterior Canal -
The anterior canal is the forward most canal, and it is responsible for detecting movements in your head and body in the nodding position or plane, like you are saying “yes” or bending forward and backwards. It also helps control the upward movement and rolling of your eyes.
Lateral Canal -
The lateral canal sits between the anterior and posterior canals, and it is responsible for detecting rotation right and left, like turning your head to say “no” or moving your entire body. It also controls the side the side movement of your eyes when looking right and left.
Posterior Canal -
The posterior canal is the back most canal, and it is responsible for detecting rotations into side bending your head, tilting right and left, as well as your entire body like leaning right and left. It helps to control the downward movement and rolling of your eyes.
As an important note, all these canals can get deposits from the otolith organs, which we will talk about next, and can cause a disorder called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, or BPPV.
Otolith Organs
Just outside of the semicircular canals are your otoliths, which means “ear stones.” Your otoliths are like the ballast stones on an old sailing ship that keep the ship from tipping over in rough water.1 There are two otolith organs that detect movement in vertical up and down and a second set that controls forward and backwards movement. The first is called the utricule, which sits in the ear in the same direction of the lateral canal. The second is called the saccule which sits in the same direction as the anterior and posterior canals, or the vertical canals. Much like the hair in the semicircular canals, your otoliths have hair cells embedded in a jelly like substance that had the otoliths on top of it like a crust of bread. When the hair cells move due to your movements up or down as well as forward or backwards, they create a signal for the brain to interpret to control your balance in these directions.
In general our body has a lot of symmetry and redundancy. We have two ears, two eyes, teeth on both sides of the mouth, so, this is true of our vestibular system. You have semicircular canals and otoliths on both your right and left sides. They communicate in tandem to give your brain a complete picture about your movement. While the semicircular canals or otoliths could, in theory, work in a single plane of motion independent of one another, the reality is that our brain is receiving signals from multiple components at once to give us a complete picture of the direction we are moving and the speed at which we are moving.
How do you Improve the Vestibular System?
Unfortunately, just like the electronics in your smartphone, parts of your vestibular system can break. The causes of vestibular dysfunction are numerous including infection, medication, trauma to the head or neck, and age-related degeneration. Some causes of dysfunction can be pinpointed, while others are still under investigation. The good news is that while we may not understand the origins of all episodes of vestibular dysfunction, we can treat them and we can strengthen your vestibular system in the process.
Your sensory systems are very much like your muscles, if you don’t engage them, they will get weak. We call this atrophy. Just like muscular atrophy, if your vestibular system is not challenged everyday with movements it will become weaker and will atrophy. Just like one set of weak muscles may force another muscle group to work harder, a weak vestibular system will force your visual and somatosensory systems to work hard to maintain your balance, which often leads to dizziness, which is called a sensory mismatch.
Your vestibular system can be challenged both with the aid of your visual and somatosensory systems, but also by reducing their ability to help, this will force your vestibular system to work harder and become stronger. A stronger vestibular system isn’t something you are going to see like you might with a muscle getting larger, but it is something you will notice as feeling less tired, having improved endurance, and more stamina. Strength of your vestibular system is focused on improved coordination of the vestibular organs and their connection to the brain, which takes specialized therapy performed by physical therapists.
A balance rehabilitation specialist, or a physical therapist with vestibular training, will identify where your vestibular deficits are (Check out Our Process) and create a custom program of exercises that will challenge your brain-vestibular connection to keep you upright, make you feel less dizziness, and reduce fall risk in the future.
If you are dizzy, feel unsteady, have lightheadedness, motion sickness, or have vertigo (including BPPV), it is time to see a physical therapist at FYZICAL with vestibular training to see what she/he can do for you.
Your vestibular system is made up of three tiny bones called your semicircular canals. Inside of these canals are fluid and hair cells. (We’re not talking about the hair growing out of Uncle Joe’s ears.) When you move, the fluid moves; just like water sloshing around in a cup. These tiny hair cells get pushed by the fluid, which they translate into a message for your brain. This message works in combination with messages from your visual and somatosensory systems to help keep you upright and balanced. Just outside of the semicircular canals are your otoliths. Your otoliths are like a combination of stone and protein1, when they move, they tell your body how fast it is going.
Unfortunately, just like the electronics in your smart phone, parts of your vestibular system can break. Pieces of your otoliths can break off and enter the semicircular canals. The broken piece of otolith will keep moving after you have stopped, which means your hair cells will think you are still moving. You won’t know up from down without the aid of your vision and somatosensory systems, but Vestibular Rehabilitation from a trained Physical Therapist can help you Love Your Life again. FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City have Physical Therapists trained to provide Vestibular Rehabilitation; if you are Dizzy, or have Vertigo or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) call to schedule an appointment today.
-Dr. Lauren Peterson with Major Contributions from Brian Werner
FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City provides vestibular rehabilitation and orthopedic physical therapy in Lakeside, The Village, Nichols Hills and surrounding NW Oklahoma City. Our physical therapists are specially trained to treat all types of pain, movement disorders, and musculoskeletal dysfunction including vertigo and BPPV. Our practitioners take a patient-centered individualized approach that focuses on your health needs. If you are unsure about your dizziness, or you want to see the FYZICAL Difference for yourself, schedule a free consultation today.
Originally Posted 12/17/2018