Assessment of Saccular Function in Children With Sensorineural Hearing Loss

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Abstract
The cochlea and the vestibule are the peripheral sensory organs of the auditory and vestibular system, respectively. They are anatomically and phylogenetically related. Disturbances of cochlear function, which can result in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), could accompany vestibular impairment because the cochlea and the vestibule share the continuous membranous labyrinth of the inner ear.1-4 On the one hand, owing to the success of newborn hearing screening and early intervention programs, congenital and early-onset SNHL in children is usually well managed. On the other hand, vestibular function deficits in hearing-impaired children are often overlooked and not thoroughly investigated, in contrast to the adult population. Early detection of peripheral vestibular dysfunction in the pediatric population not only can help clinicians and parents understand why children experience balance disturbances but also facilitate children's learning of compensation strategies for balance control. There are a variety of reasons why vestibular evaluation is not routinely performed in the pediatric population.1,5-7 One of those is the lack of feasible and effective procedure(s) for clinical use. The standard procedures for vestibular evaluation in adults, such as electronystagmography (ENG) and caloric test, are challenging, if not impossible, when attempted in young children.

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