Overview

The full diagnostic testing that was completed in office assessed all 10 end organs of the inner ear (five in the left ear and five in the right ear) and their corresponding branches of the VIIIth cranial nerve, which contribute to three main reflexes in the balance system: the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR), the vestibulospinal reflex (VSR), and the otolith ocular reflex (OOR). Testing indicated a specific vestibular dysfunction (vestibulopathy) with significant VOR, VSR, OOR dysfunction or a combination thereof. A customized treatment protocol will be developed and applied both in clinic and at home through a proprietary system called Advanced Vestibular Treatment (AVT). The goal is to further promote compensation of any identified vestibulopathy, and further improve a patient’s frequency, severity and duration of symptoms.

Advanced Vestibular Treatment (AVT) is a specialized and proprietary audiologist-directed vestibular rehabilitation program, developed by NMABEI, that strengthens the inner ear vestibular system to reduce symptoms of vertigo, dizziness, and imbalance. AVT focuses on strengthening the vestibular reflexes (VOR, VSR and OOR) through central compensation or synaptic reorganization, the process of brain plasticity that allows for new neural connections to be made to help adjust for a person’s changing balance or motion.

During the course of AVT, the patient’s progress is tracked through subjective patient reported improvement of symptoms and objective measures related directly to the function of the inner ear. The managing audiologist will use these measures to further modify and direct the course of treatment. In the preferred clinical approach, the patient is seen twice weekly in the clinic. In between sessions, the patient performs individualized, customized home-treatment sessions via internet access twice per day.

At the completion of treatment, the patient's objective data is compared to the normative data, and the patient completes a subjective questionnaire with regards to their overall balance functionality. The patient graduates from treatment after the three phases of treatment have been completed, and the patient’s objective and subjective data fall within the normative data range or reveal significant improvements. 93% of patients who complete six to eight weeks of AVT demonstrate measurable objective and subjective improvement.