Evaluation of pilots in civil aviation with video head i̇mpulse test (vHİT) and Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP)

In pilots, spatial disorientation is a major risk for aircraft accidents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the vestibular systems of active pilots with C-VEMP, O-VEMP and vHIT. Thirty male pilots aged 31-48 (average 39.17±3.85) and 30 male volunteer participants aged 23-48 (average 37.53±6.10) were included in this study. After ear, nose and throat examinations and audiological reviews, C-VEMP, O-VEMP, and vHIT tests were applied to all participants. There was no statistically significant difference between latency and P1-N1 amplitude values between pilots and control group in C-VEMP test (p>0.05). In the O-VEMP test, there was no statistically significant difference between latency and N1-P1 amplitude values between pilots and control group (p>0.05). In the vHIT test, the gain values of the pilots were consistent with the control group gain values. There was no statistically significant difference between the gain values of the lateral, posterior and anterior canals (p>0.05). In this study, utricular, saccular and semicircular canals of pilots and their central connections were found to function normally.