Vestibular assessment and treatment is a specialized area of medicine that focuses on the inner ear, which is responsible for maintaining balance. Patients who suffer from vestibular disorders such as dizziness, vertigo, or even hearing loss are often seen in ENTs.
Vestibular assessment and treatment is a specialized field of medicine that examines the inner ear and brain. The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining balance and movement, which includes eye movements and head turns. When this system is damaged, it can affect your ability to walk, run, stand up or sit down.
Vestibular disorders can be caused by:
Injury
Illness
Other medical conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis (MS)
Vestibular disorders also have many symptoms that are similar to other neurological problems. These include dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus and headaches. In fact, some people who suffer from vestibular disorders may not realize they have one until they go to a doctor for another medical problem.
The goal of a vestibular assessment is to determine the cause of dizziness or vertigo, and if necessary, prescribe treatment. The process usually starts with a discussion about your symptoms. Your doctor will ask you questions about your history and current symptoms, as well as any medications you take.
If you have dizziness or vertigo that has lasted more than two weeks, it’s important to see a doctor right away. If you don’t know what caused your symptoms, it’s important to find out so you can prevent future episodes.
Stress testing can be used to assess how well your brain is working by asking you to perform simple tasks while standing on one leg and then while standing on two legs. This test allows doctors to measure how well your brain responds when faced with different kinds of stressors (such as standing on one leg versus two).
The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining balance, posture and gait. The vestibular system consists of several parts that include the semicircular canals and otoliths. The semicircular canals are responsible for detecting movement in the horizontal plane and otoliths are responsible for detecting vertical movements.
The vestibular system of the brain receives information from the inner ear through three major pathways:
The first pathway involves gravity-induced vestibular efference copies that travel to the brainstem, which is situated in between the cerebellum and pons. The second pathway involves self-generated vestibular efference copies that travel from the brain stem to the cerebellum via midbrain vestibulospinal tracts. These pathways enable us to maintain balance and find our bearings when we move about or stand still.
The third pathway involves proprioceptive feedback from muscles and joints which is also known as somatosensation. This process enables us to sense where we are positioned in space as well as how fast we’re moving, which ensures that our movements are coordinated with gravity