The Value of Vestibular Rehabilitation in Patients with Bilateral Vestibular Dysfunction

OBJECTIVE: The value of vestibular rehabilitation in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction was investigated. MATERIALS and METHODS: This study assessed 17 patients (9 males, 8 females) with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. Vestibular rehabilitation continued for 1.5 months. Videonystagmography tests (including oculomotor testing, positional testing, and caloric tests), vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing, and computerized dynamic posturography were performed during the pre-, mid-, and post-treatment periods. The patients underwent cranial and internal acoustic canal MRI. Consultant physicians from the neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation departments reviewed all patients. RESULTS: The post-treatment anteroposterior somatosensorial (APSO), anteroposterior global (APGLO), mediolateral visual (MLVI), and mediolateral global values and anteroposterior and mediolateral trials and conditions were significantly higher than those measured in the pre-treatment period. Similarly, mid-treatment values of the APSO, APGLO, and the anteroposterior sensory organization test (SOT) 2 were significantly higher than those measured in the pre-treatment period. CONCLUSION: Vestibular rehabilitation was effective in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. As the vestibular rehabilitation duration increased, so did the efficacy of the treatment. KEYWORDS: Bilateral vestibular dysfunction, computerized dynamic posturography, vestibular rehabilitation, videonystagmography, sensory organization test