TITLE:
Vestibular Rehabilitation for the Patients with Intractable Vestibular Neuritis
AUTHORS:
Hiroaki Ichijo
KEYWORDS:
Video-Oculography, Caloric Testing, Vestibular Compensation, Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery,
Vol.7 No.6,
November
14,
2018
ABSTRACT: Objective: To clarify whether vestibular rehabilitation is effective in improving spontaneous nystagmus in patients with intractable vestibular neuritis. Methods: The subjects were 8 patients (6 females and 2 males) with vestibular neuritis who revealed long-lasting (more than 2 months since the onset) horizontal spontaneous nystagmus toward the healthy side. We used thumbs-up head shaking for vestibular rehabilitation. This exercise involves active head shaking (1 Hz) while staring at one’s thumb nail. One set is 10 cycles. We asked the patient to do 3 sets (morning, afternoon, and night) every day. Results: The mean value of the slow-phase velocity of spontaneous nystagmus before treatment was 4.1°/s, and that 3 months after vestibular rehabilitation was 4.1°/s. No improvement was observed. Conclusion: Vestibular rehabilitation is not always effective in improving spontaneous nystagmus in patients with intractable vestibular neuritis. Therefore, clinicians should consider the possibility of long-term incomplete central compensation.