What is Otolithic Disorder? Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.

Otolith constitutes of two organs of the inner ear known as saccule and utricle. They are responsible for detecting orientation in the vertical and horizontal planes while sensing linear acceleration in the same. Any damage to otolith organs, saccule & utricle is referred to as otolithic disorders.
When damage is caused to the otolith organs or their central connections, it dysfunctions the body balance resulting in loss of equilibrium and cause a disturbance in visual stability. Chronic unsteadiness along with a feeling of rocking or floating are often experienced by patients suffering from an otolithic disorder. A recent survey reports that measuring the damaged caused to the otolith organs is yet not found.
If a person experiences any acute injury in the utricle, which is one of the organs of the otolith, he/she is likely to experience a subjective tilt of the world. It is still not verified whether chronic injuries in the utricle have any significant clinical syndrome.
Utricle dysfunction or disorder is often accompanied by loss of balance as they are responsible for sensing motion and visual disturbances due to tilt in the eye movement. Utricular disorders may be persistent or episodic depending on the underlying Otolithic Disorder Causes.
If the patient is experiencing episodic utricular disorders that recur in a shorter duration is often accompanied by tilting sensations or loss of balance, without any signs of spinning sensations known as vertigo conditions. If a person is suffering from Otolith disorder due to dysfunction in the saccule, he/she might develop an inversion illusion or confusion of up and down.
It is recommended to seek medical help as soon as you start witnessing Otolithic Disorder Symptoms. It is advised to visit Otolithic Disorder diagnostic hospital for a complete diagnosis of the condition to get the best Otolithic Disorder treatment.
An expert neurologist would examine the underlying cause of the disorder by asking you to undergo various tests like Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) test, Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test & so on. Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) test is used in detecting the otolithic disorder whereas the Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test is used to measure otolithic input. After the complete diagnosis of the condition, he would suggest the best Otolithic Disorder treatment to alleviate Otolithic Disorder Symptoms at a faster rate. In some cases, doctors may even suggest long term vestibular rehabilitation therapy which aims at otolith stimulation to treat Otolith disorders completely. After understanding what is an otolith disorder, let’s move on further to understand its symptoms that drags your attention to seek medical help.

What are the common Otolithic Disorder Symptoms?

A person suffering from Otolith Disorder due to damage to saccule or utricle experiences several symptoms. Here is a list of some common symptoms of Otolith Dysfunction:

1. A person suffering from otolithic disorder experiences visual disturbances due to the tilting of eyes.
2. A feeling of dizziness or lightheadedness
3. Loss of balance or imbalance
4. Mobility impairments
5. A person may experience an illusion of motion like floating or rocking
6. If a person is experiencing otolithic disorder due to dysfunction to the saccule, he/she might develop an inversion illusion or confusion of up and down.
7. Tilting sensations or loss of balance, without vertigo spells (spinning sensations).

What are the common Otolithic Disorder Causes?

There are various causes responsible for triggering the function of Otolithic organs. The damage caused to utricle or saccule can be due to various reasons. It can be a result of a disturbance in central functions or can be a symptom of any disease. Let’s have a look at some of the most common Otolithic Disorder Causes:

A list of Otolithic Disorder diagnosed with the system:

1. Peripheral utricular disturbance
2. Brainstem utricular disturbance
3. Cortical vestibular disturbance
4. Psychiatric disorder

Here is a list of diseases that is responsible for causing Otolith dysfunction:

1. Meniere’s disease

Meniere's disease is an inner ear disorder. It is responsible for increasing the pressure in the inner ear due to fluid build-up. It affects both the otolith organs i.e. utricle and saccule, which is responsible for causing the otolithic disorder. It is recommended to seek medical help when you start observing any symptoms of Meniere’s disease. It helps in preventing the symptoms from triggering any further while preventing otolithic disorder.

2. Acoustic Neuroma and Vestibular Neuritis

If a person is suffering from any vestibular disorder like Acoustic Neuroma and Vestibular Neuritis, it can solely be responsible for causing the otolithic disorder. Vestibular disorder disconnects utricle from the brain thereby causing utricle disorder. Sometimes central disturbances cause symptoms like tilting on one side which resembles the symptoms of a utricular disorder.

3. Stroke

Stroke is one of the major causes that leads to otolithic disorder. If a person is experiencing a stroke known as "top of the basilar syndrome" he may have an illusion that the surroundings have been turned upside down. This kind of stroke syndrome does not affect the utricular pathways but shows a similar set of symptoms. If a person is experiencing brainstem strokes, it may cause permanent subjective and objective tilting of visual stability.

4. BPPV vertigo

If a person is diagnosed with BPPV vertigo, it is likely to affect the otolith organ, utricle. In BPPV vertigo the deposition of calcium crystals in the inner ear blocks the vestibular nerve that is responsible for sensing sensory signals from the inner ear to the brain. During the diagnosis of BPPV in patients, it has been examined that the utricle has been reported abnormal in BPPV.

Otolithic Disorder treatment

As soon as you start observing any Otolithic Disorder Symptoms or diagnosed with any of the above-mentioned disorders, seek medical help immediately. Consult the best Otolithic Disorder diagnostic hospital that has a team of qualified and well experienced medical professionals. To get the right Otolithic Disorder treatment to cure the underlying ailment, an accurate diagnosis of the underlying condition and seeking a complete medical history of the patient is a must. Your doctor will ask you to undergo various tests to diagnose the underlying condition and would suggest the best Otolithic Disorder treatment accordingly.

To treat the otolithic disorder your doctor will ask you to undergo various tests:

1. The cervical (c-VEMP) and ocular (o-VEMP) test - to determine the function of the utricle and saccule.

2. Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) test - to detect the otolithic disorder in a patient.

3. Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test - is used to measure otolithic input.

After you have undergone certain tests for a complete diagnosis of the condition, your doctor will suggest long term vestibular rehabilitation therapy which aims at otolith stimulation to treat Otolith dysfunction completely. Gaze stabilization exercises, balance and gait exercises are some of the exercises designed focusing on otolith dysfunction.