Vestibular Implantation

This review aims to introduce vestibular implants as investigational devices with the potential to provide a novel rehabilitative treatment for patients with vestibular dysfunction.

Vestibular implants are being investigated in clinical trials in the USA and Europe as a treatment option for patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (also called bilateral vestibulopathy). Analogous to cochlear implants, vestibular implants aim to encode head motion information and provide electric stimulation targeting the vestibular nerve of the inner ear. Published clinical trial results suggest vestibular implants can electrically drive vestibular mediated reflexes, including the vestibulo-ocular reflex and vestibulo-cervical reflex, as well as decreasing dizziness-specific symptoms and improving measures of quality of life.

Vestibular implants are an investigational technology with the potential to provide treatment options for patients with chronic bilateral vestibulopathy.