Upbeating Skull Vibration-Induced Nystagmus in a Case of Bilateral Sequential Superior Branch Vestibular Neuritis

Abstract

Vestibular neuritis is one of the most common reasons that someone may experience an episode of acute spontaneous vertigo, with the majority cases impacting only one ear. Cases of bilateral vestibular neuritis are rare and are thought to account for less than 10% of all cases of vestibular neuritis. Skull vibration testing is an efficient means to screen for asymmetry in vestibular function but is still in its infancy in clinical use. The ideal assessment methods and the typical patterns of skull vibration-induced nystagmus are relatively well understood; however, the presentation of skull vibration-induced nystagmus in atypical labyrinthine pathology is less clear. Skull vibration typically induces a horizontal nystagmus that beats toward the healthy labyrinth in most instances of significant labyrinthine asymmetry. We pose a case report of a patient that's symptomology and clinical test findings are most consistent with bilateral sequential superior branch vestibular neuritis with an upbeating skull vibration-induced nystagmus.

Keywords

skull vibration-induced nystagmus - vestibular neuritis - dizziness - vertigo

Previous Presentation

This case study was briefly discussed without all the details of the case in a presentation on skull vibration testing to the audiologists in the California branch of Kaiser Permanente in 2022.

Publication History

Received: 12 September 2023

Accepted: 02 February 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
07 February 2024

Article published online:
12 December 2024

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