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Scientists have come up with a new vibrating device that is placed behind the patient's ear to diagnose vertigo and offers significant benefits over current tests.
Researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a test device using bone conduction sounds.
Hearing and balance have something in common. According to the study published in the journal Medical Devices: Evidence and Research, this relationship is used to diagnose balance problems in patients with vertigo.
Generally, a "VEMP" test (vestibular evoked myogenic potential) must be performed.
A VEMP test uses loud sounds to evoke a muscle contraction of the neck and eye muscles, triggered by the vestibular system – the system responsible for our balance.
However, current VEMP methods have major drawbacks and can lead to hearing loss and discomfort for patients.
"We have developed a new type of vibrating device that is placed behind the patient's ear during the test," said Bo Hakansson, a professor at Chalmers.
"The vibrating device is small and compact, and optimized to provide a sufficient sound level to trigger the reflex at frequencies as low as 250 Hertz (Hz).
"Previously, no vibrating device was directly available for this type of balancing system test," Hakansson said.
In the transmission of bone conduction, sound waves are transformed into vibrations through the skull, stimulating the cochlea in the ear.
Half of over 65s suffer from vertigo, but the causes can be difficult to diagnose for several reasons, according to the researchers.
In 50% of these cases, vertigo is due to problems with the vestibular system, they said.
"With this bone conduction technology, the sound levels to which patients are exposed can be minimized," said Karl-Johan Freden Jansson, a postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers University.
The new vibrating device provides a maximum sound level of 75 decibels.
The test can be performed at 40 decibels less than the current method using airborne sound through headphones.
"It eliminates any risk that the test itself could cause hearing damage," Jansson said.
The researchers said the benefits also include safer tests for children and that patients with hearing disorders due to chronic ear infections or congenital malformations of the ear canal and the middle ear can be diagnosed.
The vibrating device is compatible with standardized equipment for the diagnosis of balance in health care, which makes it easy to use.
The cost of the new technology is also estimated to be lower than the corresponding equipment used today, according to the researchers.
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