Virtual Reality Vestibular Rehabilitation in 20 Patients with Vertigo Due to Peripheral Vestibular Dysfunction

Abstract

Background Vestibular compensation is disrupted in patients with chronic vestibular syndrome. Vestibular rehabilitation is an exercise therapy that optimizes the process of vestibular compensation. This study aimed to evaluate virtual reality (VR) vestibular rehabilitation in 20 patients with vertigo due to peripheral vestibular dysfunction at a single center. Our study aim was to initially assess the impact of using virtual reality technology in vestibular rehabilitation. Material/Methods The subjects were 20 patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH), as confirmed by videonystagmography. These were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 underwent vestibular rehabilitation using virtual reality and Group 2 was treated by conventional therapy. A VSS-SF questionnaire and the VAS scale were used to assess the effects and levels of patient satisfaction with therapy. Results Both groups demonstrated significantly ( P <0.001) lower values on the VSS-SF scales and VAS scales when assessed after treatment as compared to before treatment. Those undergoing conventional therapy reported significantly more severe symptoms on the VAS scale than did Group 1 at their second and third therapy visits. Indeed, Group 1 patients that underwent rehabilitation with the virtual reality component awarded significantly higher ( P =0.015) levels of subjective satisfaction when compared to Group 2. Conclusions We found that virtual reality vestibular rehabilitation in patients with vertigo due to peripheral vestibular dysfunction was as effective as conventional rehabilitation, with significantly increased levels of patient satisfaction.

Vestibular Rehabilitation: Conventional and Virtual Reality-Based Methods

“…It can represent both a real and a fictional world. This created virtual world includes not only visual content but also auditory and tactile stimuli and allows interaction with the user [8]. VR often uses a task to engage the user/patient in the system.…”

“…VR has recently gained popularity in medicine with the rapid development of mobile and visual technologies. It is used as an adjunct in psychiatry, in the treatment of anxiety, schizophrenia, or post-traumatic stress disorder, and in the treatment of cognitive disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, post-stroke hemiplegia, analgesic treatment of burns, pediatrics, cerebral palsy rehabilitation, and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders [8,14,23,24].…”

“…Symptoms of varying degrees of inadequate vestibular compensation are imbalance, impairment of visual fixation, spatial disorientation, vertigo, oscillopsia, sensitivity to environmental movements, cognitive problems, anxiety, and poor concentration. The consequences of these symptoms are inactivity, fear of falling, financial dependency, social isolation, disabilities in daily living activities/dependency, and decreased quality of life [1,8].…”

“…In short, it is aimed to bring the patient closer to the normal state before the disease at the maximum level by increasing the safe movement and reducing the symptoms. It is an exercise-based therapy program designed to support vestibular compensation after vestibular pathology [8][9][10][11][12].…”

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Application of Virtual Reality in Hearing Disorders

“…The notion of VR (i.e., sensory interaction including vision, hearing, smell, and touch) is like posturography which performs tridimensional sensory interaction between the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems. This method has been usually utilized for VR simulation by using goggles, e.g., the Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard platform [9][10][11] or the commercially available Computerized Dynamic Posturography device [12] or a video game console, such as Wii ® and PlayStation [13]. In addition to these applications, the VR-based technique has been applied for use in tinnitus therapy [1,14], temporal bone surgery [15], and mastoidectomies [16,17].…”