Audio-Vestibular Diagnostic Clinic

We will present you with tonal stimuli (i.e. beeps) using earphones and a bone vibrator. This will determine your hearing thresholds. It will let us know the degree of your hearing loss, which can range from normal to profound. It will also let us know the type of hearing loss you have (conductive, sensorineural or mixed). We will ask you to listen and repeat back words to assess your ability to understand speech. We will test the function of your middle ear and assess the function of the sensory hair cells in your cochlea (inner ear).

The audiologist will place electrodes on four spots on your head. You will lay as still as possible on a reclining chair with earphones in your ears. The earphones will play loud sounds into your ears. We will measure the faint electrical activity of your hearing nerve as it goes up your auditory brainstem.

• We will ask you to perform a series of concentrated listening tasks with headphones.
• This will help us understand how your brain processes various auditory functions.
• This testing requires focused listening. You should come to your appointment well rested.

• During this test, you will lay in a reclining chair and the audiologist will place several electrodes on your neck, upper portion of your sternum and head and face. Your audiologist will record changes in neck and eye muscle contractions timed to different stimuli. They will present loud sounds in one ear at a time or tap your forehead using a “mini-shaker”.
• These tests can cause a sore neck and headaches. They also might cause short-term worsening of your dizziness or nausea.

• During this test, you will wear goggles that record movements of your eye.
• Your audiologist will move your head in quick jerking motions while you look at a target on the wall.
• This test can cause a sore neck and short-term dizziness or nausea. In rare cases, it can cause short-term intense dizziness, nausea and headaches.

• During this test, you will wear goggles to record the movement of your eyes while doing various tasks. For example, following dots as they move on a screen, making different body and head movements, and adding warm or cool water into your ear canals. Your eyes are hard-wired to your balance organs. Your eye movements reveal how your balance organs are functioning.
• You may receive one or more test during your appointment, depending on your history.
• These tests can cause short-term dizziness and nausea.

• This rehabilitation is for those diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Your audiologist will maneuver your head into various positions. This is to attempt to return particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals back into their correct place in your inner ear.
• You may need more than one session to help resolve your BPPV-related dizziness. You can expect to feel dizzy during and after these maneuvers.

There are other types of vestibular rehabilitation exercises, not related to treating BPPV.  These services are not provided at this clinic and are typically offered by a Vestibular Physiotherapist in the community.