Vestibular Function Tests

To test the vestibular (balance organ) portion of your inner ear you will undergo a series of vestibular function tests. These tests will actually seem more like eye tests than ear tests. This is because there is a direct relationship between the muscles that control eye movements and the balance system of the inner ear. When you move your head whilst maintaining your gaze on an object the eye moves within the skull to hold position on what you are looking at. It can do this as the ear tells the brain that the head has moved and then the brain tells the eye muscles what to do to remain fixed on the target. This is the vestibulo-ocular reflex and it is the fastest reflex in the body.

If the information coming from the ears to the brain is disordered due to vestibular function loss then unusual and unconscious movements of the eyes can be seen under certain conditions that give clues to aid diagnosis.

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Eye movements are monitored both with  and without optic fixation. This is achieved by using video frenzel goggles that are able to remove fixation (put the patient into the dark by placing a cover over the goggle aperture) though continuing to observe the eyes with infrared cameras.