AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY, vol.33, no.3, pp.874-881, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) patients may experi-
ence balance problems in various environmental conditions other than positional
dizziness. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the postural control abilities
and the ability to use sensory inputs in BPPV patients in different conditions.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the postural control perfor-
mance of middle-aged adult BPPV patients in easy and difficult balance tasks,
the effect of vestibular stimulation on the maintenance of balance, and the risk
of falling, by posturographic evaluation in various conditions.
Method: A total of 26 patients diagnosed with posterior canal BPPV and 26
controls were included in the study. Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Vestibular
Stimulation Test (VST), and fall risk assessment (FRA) were applied to the par-
ticipants, respectively.
Results: Significant difference was observed in SOT medio-lateral (ML) plane in
Conditions 2 and 5 (p < .05). A significant difference was observed in the ves-
tibular score in the SOT ML plane. No significant difference was observed in
VST test scores (p > .05). In the FRA test, a significant difference was observed
in the energy and gain parameters in the anterio-posterior plane (p < .05).
Conclusions: The current study examined postural control abilities of patients
with BPPV in extensive external conditions and in both planes, using various
sensory perturbations and stimulation. It was thought that while BPPV patients
were in the active phase of the disease, their postural control skills in the ML
plane decreased and they might be at risk of falling.