Search

Introduction Vestibular pathologies cause physical and psychological symptoms, as well as cognitive problems. Objective To evaluate the deterioration in sleep quality associated with vestibular pathologies. Methods The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Limits of Stability test (LOS) were applied to the participants. Results We included 25 patients with Meniere's disease (MD), 22 patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), 21 patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular loss (UPVL), 23 patients with vestibular migraine (VM), and 43 controls. The total PSQI scores of the controls were better than those of the MD (p = 0.014), VM (p < 0.001), BPPV (p = 0.003), and UPVL (p = 0.001) groups. The proportion of poor sleepers in the MD (p = 0.005), BPPV (p = 0.018), and UPVL (p < 0.001) groups was significantly higher than that of the controls. The highest total DHI score (45.68 ± 25.76) was found among the MD group, and it was significantly higher than the scores of the BPPV (p = 0.007) and control (p < 0.001) groups. The highest BDI score was obtained in the VM group, and it was significantly higher than the scores of the BPPV (p = 0.046) and control (p < 0.001) groups. Moreover, the BDI scores of the MD (p = 0.001) and UPVL groups were also significantly worse than the score of the controls (p = 0.001). Conclusion The present study showed thatpatients with vestibular symptoms have physical and functional complaints, as well as increased psychosocial stress and decreased sleep quality. Evaluating multiple parameters of quality of life may contribute to a better understanding of vestibular physiology and symptoms, and may help establish a more effective therapeutic approach.

Objective Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most important problems affecting both social and professional life of patients. There is no treatment method considered to be successful on the hearing loss that has become a permanent nature. Aim of this study is to evaluate protective effect of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) against NIHL in an animal model. Methods Twenty-eight rats were separated into four groups [control saline (group I), control KRG (group II), saline + noise (group III), KRG + noise (group IV)]. Rats in the saline and KRG groups were fed via oral gavage with a dose of 200 mg/kg/day throughout for 10 days. Fourteen rats (group III and IV) were exposed to 4 kHz octave band noise at 120 dB SPL for 5 hours. Hearing levels of rats were evaluated by distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) at 4, 8, 12, 16 and 32 kHz frequencies prior to and on days 1, 7 and 10 after the noise exposure. Rats were sacrificed on 10th day, after the last audiological test. Cochlea and spiral ganglion tissues were evaluated by light microscopy. Results Audiological and histological results demonstrated that after noise the group IV showed better results than group III. In the noise exposed groups, the most prominent damage was seen at the 8 kHz frequency region than other regions. After the noise exposure, DPOAE responses were lost in 1st, 7th and 10th measurements in both group III and IV. Thus, we were not able to perform any statistical analyses for DPOAE results. Conclusion Our findings suggest that KRG seems to be an efficient agent against NIHL. There is need for additional research to find out about the mechanisms of KRG's protective effect.

The vestibular system is responsible for sensing the velocity and acceleration of angular and linear movements of the head and sensitivity to gravity in maintaining balance with its peripheral and central structures. It performs this function through vestibular reflexes. When peripheral vestibular diseases occur unilaterally or bilaterally, the functions of vestibular reflexes are affected, resulting in deterioration in eye movements compatible with head movements and anti-gravity muscle activity coordination, which ensures upright posture against gravity. Dizziness and/or imbalance persist in patients in whom the central compensation process cannot be completed, resulting in restrictions in the patient’s independent movements, daily activities, and quality of life. In the middle and long term, these restrictions cause sedentary life, fear of falling, loss of general condition, emotional problems, and social isolation. In patients diagnosed with unilateral peripheral vestibular disease, vestibular rehabilitation methods based on exercise and living environment arrangements are used as valid and reliable methods to support central compensation mechanisms and to eliminate movement restrictions. Along with conventional exercises, virtual reality-based vestibular rehabilitation systems on stable or unstable platforms are also used for this purpose. In this chapter, the essential principles of conventional and virtual reality-based vestibular rehabilitation methods take place.

Objective The video head impulse test (vHIT) is a diagnostic tool to assess the function of the semicircular canals and branches of the vestibular nerve. The aim of this study was to analyze the interexaminer variability of vHIT results in healthy subjects. Materials and Methods A total of 21 healthy participants were included in the study. vHIT responses were collected by four clinicians. Variability of the vHIT results between examiners was analyzed statistically. Results The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) velocity regression values were from 0.99 to 1.09 degrees per second for the lateral canals. For the vertical canals, VOR velocity regression values were from 0.87 to 1.21 degrees per second. According to repeated measures analysis of variance, the normality assumptions for the velocity regression of the left lateral canal (p = 0.002) and the right anterior canal (p Conclusion The interexaminer differences of the VOR gain values for the vHIT were statistically significant. Serial vHIT testing should be performed by the same examiner to reduce the effects of interexaminer variability.

Background Deteriorated speech understanding is a common complaint in elderly people, and behavioral tests are used for routine clinical assessment of this problem. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) are frequently used for assessing speech detection and discrimination abilities of the elderly, and give promise for differential diagnosis of speech understanding problems. Purpose The aim of the study was to compare the P1, N1, and P2 CAEP latencies and amplitudes in presbycusis with low and high word recognition score (WRS). Research Design A cross-sectional study design was used forthe study. Two groups were formed from the patients with presbycusis based on their scores on the speech recognition test. Study Sample Fifty-seven elderly volunteers participated in the study. The first group composed of 27 participants with high WRS, the other group composed of 30 participants with low WRS. Data Collection and Analysis The CAEP waves were recorded from these participants using speech signals. Latencies and amplitudes of P1 -N1-P2 waves of the two groups were compared with the f-test statistic. Results There were significant prolongation of P1 and N1 latencies in presbycusis with low WRS when compared with presbycusis with a relatively high word score (p Conclusion According to the result of the research, P1 and N1 latencies of presbycusis with low WRS were longer than the participants with high WRS. Factors affecting peripheral auditory system, such as stimulus sensation level, might be responsible for P1 and N1 latency prolongation of the low WRS group.

Kent ormanlari cok fonksiyonlu kullanim ozellikleri (ekolojik, estetik ve mimari, fiziksel ve iklimsel, sosyal ve ekonomik faydalari) ile kentsel yesil altyapi sisteminin temel yapi taslarindandir. Bu makalede oncelikle Bolu Kent Ormani’nin dogal ve rekreasyonel kullanim ozellikleri Cografi Bilgi Sistemleri (CBS) araciligi ile saptanmistir. Daha sonra Bolu Kent Ormani’nin cok fonksiyonlu planlanmasina katkida bulunmak ve bu kapsamda alanin sosyal, estetik, ekolojik ve ekonomik yararlarini olcmek amaciyla 75 uzmana anket uygulanmistir. Elde edilen veriler, Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0 programindaki Korelasyon analizi ile degerlendirilmistir. Sonucta, Bolu Kent Ormani’nin cok fonksiyonlu kullanim ozellikleri bakimindan onemli potansiyele sahip olmasina karsin, Bolu’nun buyuk kismini ormanlik alanlarin olusturmasindan dolayi kent ormani beklenen ilgiyi gorememistir. Ayrica isletmenin ve bakim calismalarinin duzenli yapilmamasi sonucunda ulasilmak istenen standartlarin altinda kaldigi tespit edilmistir. Bolu Kent Ormani’nin butuncul planlanmasi gerektigi vurgulanmakta olup, korumakullanim dengesi gozetilerek cok fonksiyonlu planlanmasina ve yonetimine isik tutacak surdurulebilir oneriler getirilmistir.

Ménière's disease is defined as an idiopathic syndrome characterized by endolymphatic hydrops. Various tests and measurement methods have been employed for the diagnosis of Ménière's disease. These include audiological, vestibular, radiological, clinical, and biochemical tests. However, the lack of a definitive or gold standard diagnostic test sometimes complicates the process of diagnosis. Hence, the clinician should be well-experienced in deciding when to perform a test and how to interpret the results of the test. Furthermore, having the knowledge of the validity and reliability of these tests plays a critical role. This review particularly emphasizes on remarking the validity and reliability of each test performed for the diagnosis of Ménière's disease and discussing the results according to the up-to-date literature.

WOS: 000456115400027, PubMed ID: 29283101, OBJECTIVE: Meniere's Disease (MD) is a chionic, non-life threatening inner ear disease, with attacks of disabling vertigo, progressive hearing loss, and tinnitus as the major symptoms. All three symptoms, separately or in combination, cause great distress and have a considerable impact on the quality of life of the patients.The aims of this study were to develop a disease-specific quality of life survey for patients with MD and to analyze the relationships between the audiovestibular findings and the survey. MATERIALS and METHODS: Following Ear-Nose-Throat examination and audiovestibular tests, the Dokuz Fylul University Meniere's Disease Disability Scale (DEU-MDDS) and Turkish version of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI-T) weie administered to 93 patients with definite MD. Reliability and validity analyses of the scale weie performed. RESULTS: There were 45 (48.4%) male and 48 (51.6%) female patients and the mean age was 48.9 +/- 12.1 years. Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 and intraclass correlation coefficients of the DEU-MMDS were significant (p0.05). CONCLUSION:The MDDS is a valid and reliable scale as a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire for patients with MD.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the auditory findings in vestibular migraine (VM) and migraine patients without a history of vertigo. Methods This study was conducted on 44 patients diagnosed with definite VM and 31 patients diagnosed with migraine who were followed and treated between January 2011 and February 2015. Also, 52 healthy subjects were included in this study as a control group. All participants underwent a detailed otorhinolaryngological examination followed by audiological evaluation, including pure tone audiometry, speech reception threshold, speech recognition score, and acoustic immitancemetry. Results In the VM group, there were 16 patients (36.4%) with tinnitus, while in the other groups we did not observe any patients with tinnitus. The rate of tinnitus in the VM group was significantly higher in comparison to other groups (p