Vestibular Functions in Hearing Impaired Children

Objectives: To assess function of vestibular system through evaluation of vestibulo-ocular, vestibulocollic and vestibulospinal pathways in children with sensorineural hearing loss. Method: 20 normal hearing children (control subjects) and 80 hearing impaired children were included in this study. The study group was classified as mild, moderate, severe, and profound according to their hearing threshold level. Ice caloric test (ICT), vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), and sensory organization test of computerized dynamic posturography (SOT-CDP) were done to test the 3 vestibular pathways respectively. Results: among the 80 hearing impaired children, 36 (45%) were normal in the 3 tests, 20 patients (25%) had abnormal results in one test only, 16 (20%) were abnormal in 2 tests, and only 8 patients (10%) showed abnormality in all 3 tests. 16 patients 20% were abnormal in ICT, 26 patients (32.5%) had abnormal VEMP result, and 30 patients (37.5%) had abnormal result in SOT- CDP. Significant moderate correlation was present between severity of hearing impairment and vestibulocular, vestibulocollic, and vestibulospinal pathway, r= 0.422, 0.485, and 0.546 respectively. Conclusion: the 3 vestibular pathways can be affected in the hearing-impaired children either separately or together.