A new method to analyze the subjective visual vertical in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction

The aim of this study was to assess the subjective visual vertical in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction and to propose a new method to analyze subjective visual vertical data in these patients. Static subjective visual vertical tests were performed in 40 subjects split into two groups. Group A consisted of 20 healthy volunteers, and Group B consisted of 20 patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. Each patient performed six measurements of the subjective visual vertical test, and the mean values were calculated and analyzed. Analyses of the numerical values of subjective visual vertical deviations (the conventional method of analysis) showed that the mean deviation was 0.326±1.13° in Group A and 0.301±1.87° in Group B. However, by analyzing the absolute values of the subjective visual vertical (the new method of analysis proposed), the mean deviation became 1.35±0.48° in Group A and 2.152±0.93° in Group B. The difference in subjective visual vertical deviations between groups was statistically significant (p