Vestibular evaluation of the children with severe and profound hearing loss: A case control study

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the vestibular system of children with severe and profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with video head impulse test (vHIT), cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP and oVEMP) tests. Method: Aged between 5 and 12 years, 32 participants with severe or profound SNHL (mean age 8,47 ± 1,83), and, 32 participants with normal hearing (mean age 8,38 ± 2,35) are included in the study. The developmental ages of head control, sitting without support and walking alone skills of all participants were recorded. vHIT, cVEMP and oVEMP tests were performed. Results: When the two groups were compared, in the study group, the gross motor skills were found to develop later than in the control group (p<0.001). The vHIT results were negative in the control group, yet they were positive in 28,1% of the participants in the study group. The VOR gains of the study grup were lower than that of the control group (p <0.05). In the study group, the cVEMP and oVEMP response rates were 56,2% and 53,1%, respectively, whereas in the control group, both response rates were 100%. The cVEMP and oVEMP response rates of the study group were lower than that of the control group (p<0.001). In the participants of the study group with a VEMP response, cVEMP and oVEMP threshold values were higher, amplitude values were lower than that of the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: The data obtained in the children with severe and profound SNHL indicates that there may be a loss of function in utricle, saccule and semicircular canals, which correspondingly cause delays in gross motor development. Considering vestibular system function in the diagnosis and treatment of children with SNHL was thought to be useful for early diagnosis of probable vestibular problems. Keywords Vestibular system, SNHL, vHIT, VEMP