Balance Test

Trinity Hearing & Balance provides expert neurodiagnostic assessment of balance disorders. We have state of the art neurodiagnostic equipment. We do VNG, ABR, VEMP, rotary chair, computerized dynamic posturography and other advanced testing to diagnose all types of balance disorders.

What to Expect

Learn more about what to expect during balance tests.

 

Videonystagmography (VNG)

VNG is a series of tests that involve tracking a light with your eyes while wearing a set of goggles with a camera in them to track your eye movement. We will also have you lie on your back and on your sides, and then gently put a mild stream of air with slightly cool and warm air into your ears. These tests can tell us if the cause of your balance problem is coming from your ears or from your brain, and if the balance organs are working equally in each ear.

Kelly and Kayla in front of dizzy equipment for balance testingRotary Chair

We are proud to have this technology at Trinity Hearing & Balance Center as it is typically only found in very large metropolitan areas or in research centers. This simple but extremely important test involves comfortably sitting in a chair while wearing goggles, then being gently rotated for approximately a minute at a time. This test records eye movement in response to the rotation, and tells us if the ears are working together, if one is weaker than the other, or if the brain is involved in the balance problem.

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP)

This is a simple test that involves putting electrodes on your forehead, neck, and sometimes face. You then turn your head one direction, then the other while we look at waveforms generated by your movement. This test evaluates the saccule and utricle in the inner ear and can tell us specific information about the possible cause of your balance issue.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

This test involves having electrodes put on your forehead and behind each ear, then relaxing and listening to a loud clicking noise. This very important test is looking at the auditory system past the ear and up the brainstem into the higher brain regions. This test can tell us if there might be a lesion effecting the hearing and/or balance system.

Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP)

CDP is used to assess balance disorders utilizing a balance board. This test is often used to determine postural stability. It measures a patient’s ability to maintain balance under varying conditions by testing all balance components of the body, including visual, vestibular and somatosensory systems. This is performed in effort to isolate vestibular symptoms to a specific cause that can often be treated. CDP compares your balance with age-related norms to determine if your balance is appropriate for your age.