Vestibulo-ocular reflex and postural control in deaf children
Reviewed by Badr Eldin Mostafa

The authors evaluated the impact of canal paresis detected by video head impulse test (vHIT) on postural control tested by platform posturography in children with sensorineural hearing loss. The study included 55 children (4-16 years old) with variable degrees of hearing loss (mild to profound). Children with canal paresis had a wider variation in their centre of gravity than those with partial or no canal paresis. Also, children with total canal paresis showed a significantly higher power spectral index than those with partial or no canal deficits. This study demonstrates that partial or total canal deficits detected by vHIT impact spatial and temporal characteristics of postural control in hearing impaired children. However, the authors could not determine any particular posturographic criterion to differentiate between partial and total canal deficits. The study is interesting in concept but does not provide a true insight on the relation between type and degree or hearing loss, canal paresis and postural control.

Perturbation du contrôle postural par un déficit canalaire aux hautes fréquences chez l’enfant sourd.
Reynard P, Ionescu E, Gouleme N, et al.
ANN FRANC D’OTO-RHINO LARYNGOL PATH CEVIC-FAC
2021;138:243-8.