How do you normally keep your sense of steadiness and balance?

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Your brain constantly receives nerve messages from various parts of the body to tell you where you are and what position you are in. The three main sources of these nerve messages are:

Your eyes - what you look at helps your brain to tell what position you are in and how you are moving.
Nerve messages from your skin, muscles and joints helps your brain to tell the positions of your arms, legs, and other parts of your body.
Your inner ears. The inner ear includes the cochlea, vestibule and semicircular canals in which there is a system of narrow fluid filled channels called the labyrinth. The cochlea is concerned with hearing. The three semicircular canals help to control balance and posture. Head movements are sensed because when you move your head, the fluid in the labyrinth within the semicircular canals moves too. The movement of the fluid moves tiny fine hairs that are on the inside lining of the labyrinth. When the hairs move, this triggers messages to be sent to the brain via a nerve called the vestibular nerve. This gives the brain information about the movement and position of your head, even when your eyes are closed.

To be free of dizziness and to have good balance, it is best to have all of these - eyes, nerve signals from the skin muscles and joints, and inner ears - working normally. However, if you shut your eyes, you will still have a good sense of balance, and know the position of your head and other body parts because of the nerve messages that are sent to your brain from your inner ears, and other parts of your body.