Vestibular Testing: Essential for Elderly Quality of Life

DIAGNOSTIC TESTING for: 

• Dizziness        
• Balance
• Gait                             
• Fall Prevention
• Vision and Hearing

             Watch the Video on Vestibular Testing

             Watch the Video on MotionTrak

Diagnose Peripheral, Vestibular and Vision problems for proper referrals to specialists

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A simple fall is one of the most dangerous traumas the elderly face: one-quarter of older Americans who suffer a hip fracture after a fall die within six months of the injury. But what exactly causes so many people to fall, and thus how best to prevent such spills, has long evaded the medical establishment.

Now a new study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers offers potentially lifesaving clues. Looking at data from the National Institutes for Health, researchers found that an estimated 35% of Americans over the age of 40 — roughly 69 million people — suffer from vestibular dysfunction, or as it is more commonly known, an inner-ear balance disorder. By age 60 and older, the data showed, inner-ear imbalances strike more than half of all Americans.

The study also found that vestibular dysfunction increased the risk of falling by a factor of 12. Although that link now seems obvious, doctors previously thought bone weakness, vision impairment and gait problems were the main culprits of falls among the elderly. And while physicians had always considered balance issues, they were concerned with those due to deteriorating vision or mental status, not the inner ear. "People with inner-ear balance problems regularly suffer dizziness or vertigo," says Dr. Yuri Agrawal, an otolaryngologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the study's lead author, "so it makes a lot of sense that they are more apt to fall down."

For most of the population, balance control occurs at an unconscious level. Signals from the inner ear continuously drive the eye muscles to coordinate eye movement with head movement. This coordination is necessary to have clear vision and balance. The communication between the ear and the eye is called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). When the VOR is functioning properly, eye speed and timing are equal and opposite to those of the head. But, if the speed or timing is off, even slightly, vision is distorted because of apparent motion of the visual field.

The VAT® is an 18 second test of the high frequency horizontal and vertical VOR’s for diagnosis, treatment planning and monitoring of vestibular disease. The frequency tested ( 2 - 6 Hz) closely approximates normal head movements. For example, many patients complain of dizziness or loss of balance when they are walking, bending over or turning their head quickly. The VAT® quickly and comfortably monitors a patient’s head and eye motions to record what is happening in the vestibular portion of the inner ear.

The Positional test is (4) 20 second tests. The patient sits in a chair with the head piece on. We apply 5 electrodes to track head movement, vertical eye movement, and horizontal eye movement. It is 20 seconds just sitting there with eyes closed. Then 20 seconds eyes closed with chin to chest. Then 20 seconds eyes closed with Left ear towards left shoulder. Lastly, 20 seconds eyes closed with 3ight ear towards right shoulder. When your eyes are closed, you ears determine eye placement instead of your brain.