Vestibular rehabilitation in the quality of life and the symptomatology of dizziness among the elderly

Abstract

The scope of this paper was to analyze the effect of a structured protocol of vestibular rehabilitation in the symptomatology of dizziness and the quality of life among the elderly. Nine elderly individuals were attended, namely four males and five females. The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) was used to assess quality of life and the dizziness quantification scale for the symptomatology of dizziness. A protocol for vestibular rehabilitation consisting of group activities was then developed. The Wilcoxon test and Student t-test were used for data analysis. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between quality of life and the symptomology of dizziness. The significance level used was 5%. There was significant improvement in the symptomatology of dizziness, overall quality of life and physical, emotional and functional aspects after completion of the program. There was also a good positive correlation between the symptomatology of dizziness and quality of life. The conclusion reached was that program participants had a significant improvement of dizziness, general quality of life and their respective vestibular rehabilitation aspects. There was also a good correlation between symptomatology of dizziness and overall quality of life.