Balance problems can make you feel dizzy, as if the room is spinning, unsteady, or lightheaded. You might feel as if the room is spinning or you’re going to fall down. These feelings can happen whether you’re lying down, sitting or standing.

Many body systems — including your muscles, bones, joints, eyes, the balance organ in the inner ear, nerves, heart and blood vessels — must work normally for you to have normal balance. When these systems aren’t functioning well, you can experience balance problems.

Many medical conditions can cause balance problems. However, most balance problems result from issues in your balance organ in the inner ear (vestibular system).

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of balance problems include:

• Sense of motion or spinning (vertigo)
• Feeling of faintness or lightheadedness (presyncope)
• Loss of balance or unsteadiness
• Falling or feeling like you might fall
• Feeling a floating sensation or dizziness
• Vision changes, such as blurriness
• Confusion