Many children with hearing loss also struggle with balance and dizziness. It’s a problem that isn’t well understood.
“There aren’t many people studying dizziness or balance, especially in kids,” said Kristen Janky, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A. She’s the director of the Vestibular and Balance Lab at Boys Town National Research Hospital.
“Boys Town is one of few places in the United States that studies balance in children with hearing loss.”
Families from several states, including Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota, come here for help.
Off Balance
A tiny part of your inner ear controls your balance.
“It’s called the vestibular system,” said Dr. Janky. “It helps your body know where it is in space. It works with your eyes and muscles to keep your head and body steady. It also helps you see clearly when you're moving.”
When it’s not working, it’s called vestibular loss, and it can affect how you move and learn.
“Kids can have problems with balance and falling,” she said. “Some have sudden dizziness. It can also cause thoughts to be cloudy. It really affects quality of life.”
Dizzying Effects
Dr. Janky first learned about this problem when she was young.
“My brother has hearing loss. I went with him to his audiology appointments when we were kids. Later, he started having dizzy spells,” she said.
That inspired Dr. Janky to become an audiologist. She began studying vestibular loss in 2007. Her research has found this condition affects:
- Half of kids who are deaf and have cochlear implants.
- About 1 in 3 kids with Down syndrome.
Her lab is also researching how this problem affects kids in general.
“We have a study right now that looks at how issues with the eyes affect how students learn,” Dr. Janky said. “Another study looks at how vestibular loss affects kids in their daily activities. Is it limiting how active they are?”
Steady Progress
Boys Town has been a leader in vestibular testing since the 1990s.
“Our work helped show how testing should be done,” Dr. Janky said. “We have trained professionals across the country how to do this work.”
Testing used to be harder. It involved putting stickers on a child’s face and spinning them in a chair while the room was dark.
Now it’s much simpler. “No more stickers,” Dr. Janky said. “We have a camera that watches the child’s eyes while we gently move their head. It only takes about 10 minutes.”
This testing tool was studied at Boys Town for two years before it was approved for clinical use in the U.S.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Janky’s work on this issue continues. Another study looks at how physical therapy can help. “We think the sooner kids start physical therapy, the better their outcomes will be,” she said.
She’s also studying a related condition called large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS). It affects about 15% of children with hearing loss. A CT scan can diagnose LVAS, but kids need to be sedated for the scan.
“We’re trying to find easier ways to diagnose,” Dr. Janky said. “We’re testing if simple tools like a cheek swab could work.”
The goal is better, more child-friendly testing and care.
“We can guess what might help, but the data shows us what really works,” Dr. Janky said. “That helps us make better choices for kids and their families.”