Department of Otolaryngology at UKB, University of Berlin, Charité Medical School, Berlin, Germany.
J Vestib Res. 2024;34(2-3):93-102. doi: 10.3233/VES-230079.
Patients with vestibular impairment often suffer from postural instability. This could be compensated by other sensory systems such as the auditory system.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether auditory input improves postural stability in patients with abnormal subjective haptic vertical (SHV).
Participants (n = 13) with normal hearing and vision, but abnormal SHV participated. Participants performed standing on firm ground and foam support (eyes open/closed) and Tandem Romberg test (eyes closed) in quiet (reference), noise and with plugged ears. All tasks were conducted in a soundproofed and reverberant room. Postural stability was recorded close to the body's center of gravity. Reference conditions were compared with a control group.
In only two tasks sway increased significantly when noise was presented during challenging tasks in the soundproofed room. Sway of the reference conditions did not differ significantly between control and study group.
This study shows no influence of applied auditory stimulation on posture in participants with abnormal SHV in a reverberant room, but an adverse effect on balance during difficult tasks in the soundproofed room. Noise possibly masked auditory information that was helpful in improving posture in the quiet condition. Futhermore, noise might have distracted participants from maintaining balance.
患有前庭功能障碍的患者常伴有姿势不稳。这种情况可以通过其他感觉系统（如听觉系统）进行代偿。
本研究旨在探讨听觉输入是否能改善主观触诊垂直觉（SHV）异常患者的姿势稳定性。
纳入研究的参与者（n=13）均有正常的听力和视力，但存在异常的 SHV。参与者在坚实的地面和泡沫支撑（睁眼/闭眼）以及闭眼情况下进行单足站立和 tandem Romberg 测试（安静、噪声和塞耳）。所有任务均在隔音且混响的房间中进行。记录接近身体重心的姿势稳定性。参考条件与对照组进行比较。
仅在两个任务中，当在隔音室内的挑战性任务中出现噪声时，摆动明显增加。参考条件下的摆动在对照组和研究组之间没有显著差异。
本研究表明，在混响室内，异常 SHV 参与者的姿势并未受到应用听觉刺激的影响，但在隔音室内的困难任务中平衡受到不利影响。噪声可能掩盖了在安静条件下有助于改善姿势的听觉信息。此外，噪声可能分散了参与者维持平衡的注意力。
