Effect of Hearing Status on Static Postural Control Performance of College Athletes

Context: Due to the close proximity of the cochlea, vestibular apparatus and shared neurovascular structures, static postural control of athletes who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HoH) may be different than that of athletes who are hearing. Limited research is available to quantify differences between these athletes. Objective: Determine the effect of hearing status and stance condition on static postural control performance of athletes. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Athletic training facilities. Patients or Other Participants: Fifty-five collegiate varsity athletes who are D/HoH (20.62±1.80 yrs., 1.73±0.08 m., 80.34±18.92 kg.) and 100 university club athletes who are hearing (20.11±1.59 yrs., 1.76±0.09 m., 77.66±14.37 kg.) participated in the study. Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance (mCTSIB) on a tri-axial force plate. Antero-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) center of pressure (CoP) velocity, AP and ML CoP amplitude root-mean-square (RMS), and 95% ellipse sway area were calculated. Results: Athletes who are D/HoH had a larger CoP velocity, larger ML RMS, and larger sway area than those who are hearing (p < .01 for all). A significant main effect of stance condition was observed for all postural control variables (p < .01 for all). Conclusions: Athletes who are D/HoH demonstrated larger sway compared to athletes who are hearing during the mCTSIB. Therefore, individualized baseline assessments for static postural control performance may be warranted for athletes who are D/HoH as opposed to comparisons to existing normative data.