The pathology of peripheral vestibular disorders in the elderly.

We describe a clinical classification of vertigo commonly seen in the elderly and caused by peripheral vestibular disorders. The classification includes inducible transient vertigo and noninducible protracted vertigo. The peripheral vestibular disorder includes abnormalities of sensory, neural, and mechanical structures and is often asymmetric. Determination of the pathogenesis of these disorders is often speculative. Pathogenesis may include degenerative, infectious, neoplastic, and vascular insults to the vestibular labyrinth.