These two cases illustrate several important areas of vestibular evaluation with children.
The two case reports represent two children who display very different vestibular
findings despite having significant sensorineural hearing loss.
These case reports highlight that pediatric findings can differ significantly from
adult findings, stressing the importance of comparing pediatric results with pediatric
normative data. These two cases also highlight that vestibular techniques may successfully
be adapted for use with hearing-impaired children. That is, rotary chair, computerized
dynamic posturography, and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials can be adapted to
use with children, including those who demonstrate significant sensorineural hearing
loss. Although there is a paucity of research and clinical work in this area, some
investigators (Eviatar and Eviatar, 1977; Buchman et al, 2004; Jacot et al, 2009)
have reported very rapid recovery from pediatric vestibular deficits. However, it
is important for audiologists to be aware that techniques may successfully be adapted
for children and that many children should undergo thorough vestibular evaluation.
Key Words
Balance function tests - balance system - computerized dynamic posturography - pediatric
vestibular evaluation - rotary chair - sensorineural hearing loss - vestibular evoked
myogenic potential
