How inner ear changes affect balance and fall risk as we age
Official title: Towards healthy aging: Quantifying vestibular contributors to age-related changes in balance and fall risk
Funded at Ohio State University · NIH-11134712 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether age-related changes in the inner ear make balance worse and raise the chance of falling for older adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ohio State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 30, 2021 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $701,080 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG073113-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11134712 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults, especially older adults with balance problems or a history of falls, who can come for balance and vestibular testing.
✕Less likely to help
People whose balance issues are clearly due to non-vestibular causes (for example, advanced neuropathy or severe musculoskeletal limitations) may not directly benefit from vestibular-focused findings.
What this research studies
You may be invited to have simple balance tests (for example, standing with eyes closed on foam) and measurements of inner-ear (vestibular) sensitivity. The team will combine new measurements with large existing datasets and use modern statistical methods to estimate how much vestibular changes explain age-related balance loss and fall risk. Their goal is to link age, vestibular precision, balance performance, and reported falls to identify the most important contributors. Findings will help point to who might benefit from targeted prevention or treatment strategies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify inner-ear problems that contribute to falls and guide more focused fall-prevention strategies for older adults.
How similar studies have gone: Prior analyses have already shown strong links—one reported that vestibular measures explained nearly half of age-related balance decline and national survey data linked failed balance tests to higher odds of falling—so this approach builds on promising, but not yet fully translated, findings.
Where this research is happening
-
Ohio State University
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Merfeld, Daniel M — Ohio State University
- Study coordinator: Merfeld, Daniel M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.