Fall incidents are a rising problem amongst older people and can have multiple causes. Vestibular disturbances such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) are often not recognized as risk factors. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence of BPPV in an older population referred to the geriatric falls clinic....
Audiologists and balance specialists working alongside falls clinics should advocate for routine BPPV screening protocols in that setting, as current referral pathways likely miss a treatable cause of falls in older adults.
Identifying BPPV as an underdiagnosed contributor to falls in older adults could improve referral pathways between falls clinics and vestibular services, reducing preventable injury.
- 01BPPV is a common but frequently undiagnosed vestibular cause of falls in older adults.
- 02Falls clinics represent a high-yield screening venue for detecting BPPV.
- 03Early identification enables prompt repositioning manoeuvres (e.g., Epley), which are simple and effective.
- 04Underdiagnosis may lead to unnecessary investigations and ongoing fall risk.
- 05Systematic screening integration could reduce fall-related morbidity in aging populations.
BPPV is a common but underdiagnosed cause of vestibular disturbance and falls in older patients.
studypartially supportedScreening for BPPV in falls clinic populations is clinically important and currently underutilised.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42449246
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12877-026-07777-0.
- Journal
- BMC Geriatrics
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Older patients presenting to falls clinics
- Intervention
- Screening for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
Primary outcomes
Prevalence or detection rate of BPPV in falls clinic patients; Association between BPPV and fall risk