If you feel off balance when you turn your head you may be at risk of falls due to balance problems originating in your inner ear.

Recent evidence shows that individuals with balance deficits and higher falls risk, slow down their walking speed when they turn their heads. Measuring how much one slows down when turning one's head may help identify balance deficits. [Relationship between head-turn gait speed and lateral balance function in community-dwelling older adults. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2017, June 10]