DANCING could help stop you developing vertigo, a leading ear surgeon said.

The hobby can help people maintain their “balance fitness”, Angus Waddell told a packed Great Western Hospital lecture theatre.

The ear, nose and throat surgeon, who leads the hospital’s vertigo clinic, shared the secrets to staving off dizziness.

He said: “Public message number one is to get balance fit and keep it fit. That will stand you in good stead.”

People learn to balance as they grow up, Mr Waddell said – comparing the skills of a three-year-old rookie ballerina to the post-perfect pirouette of a 19-year-old.

But like exercising your heart or muscles, keeping “balance fit” requires regular work.

Walking, ballroom dancing and other everyday activities could help people maintain their “balance fitness” levels.

The enemy is people ignoring their need for aids, such as walking sticks, or stopping doing things like walking altogether for fear that it will bring on a dizzy spell.

“If you’re unsteady on your feet it might just be your age,” he said. “Use a walking stick. It might stop you falling and breaking your hip – and that in itself might save your life.”

Taking certain medicines designed to dull dizzy spells would not help those suffering from vertigo, Mr Waddell added.

“We know that to get you better you’ve got to stop the sedative medicines and start exercising,” he said.

“But we have lots of ways of avoiding doing the things that will make us better.”

Mr Waddell said that the effects of vertigo could be devastating – leaving people unable to sleep lying down or scared to pick up their children for fear of bringing on an attack.

One condition – Labyrinthitis – is so debilitating it can cause vomiting, loss of bowel control, dizziness and hearing loss.

Mr Waddell said of an attack of the inner ear disease: “At first you’re worried you’re going to die. Then you’re worried you’re going to live.”

After the talk, audience members asked the clinician for advice on fixing dizzy spells.

But one man, who had been treated by Mr Waddell for an ear complaint that left him struggling to work ten years, thanked the doctor for his work.

He said he was proof that persevering with the treatments – which can prove painful – worked.

“I now teach people to ride motorbikes,” he said. “But I hated you at the time.”