Doctor say they may have piece of medical equipment which could giving patients with vertigo and dizziness, their lives back.

Nicole Ward reports.

This chair looks intimidating. But doctors say if you have a problem with your inner ear, this is what you want.

Geoffrey Schwartz should know

"At 79, certain things do go wrong," said Schwartz.

And for Schwartz, it was his balance.

"With vertigo you have the room turning around all the time."

He lived with constant dizziness and vertigo for a year before being seeing Dr. Ian Purcell at Alvarado hospital.

Dr. Ian Purcell, Otoneurologist said, "Hey doc I get dizzy when I pitch my head up or down or left or right"

That's what most of his patients say, and it's a good indication that the crystals lining the inner ear are loose.

Otolaryngologist, Michael O'Leary, M.D. said, "When those crystals get loose and after you've turned your head, boy you're in trouble."

Dr. Michael O’Leary is an integral part of the inner ear team, and explains what it has to with keeping us upright.

"All our balance is controlled by these two gyroscopes, which are these three little semicircular canals."

So how does the chair work? By literally rolling the loose crystals back into place.

"So that may entail rotating the patient 35 degrees this way and then 120 this way."

Schwartz says he feels like his old self. He came for four appointments, each lasting a couple of hours.