Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan recently revealed that he has vestibular hypofunction disease. The actor, who was most recently seen in Jug Jugg Jeeyo, claimed that while it was being filmed, he overexerted himself and put too much strain on himself, which led to this condition. While fans may be curious about the disease and concerned about their favourite actor's health, here's everything you need to know about it.
Vestibular hypofunction is a heterogeneous condition that occurs due to defects in the vestibular organ, or eighth cranial nerve, or both. This condition can be unilateral or bilateral and can cause problems with the vestibular-ocular reflex. There are four forms of vestibular hypofunction:
• Episodic vertigo and BVH Patients have symptoms of bilateral vestibular function loss as well as recurrent vertigo that can last for years.
• Sudden or rapid development of BVH symptoms, with or without vertigo attacks.
• Gradual development of symptoms, primarily without episodic vertigo, in BVH that is slowly progressing.
• Peripheral polyneuropathy and/or cerebellar ataxia are two examples of neurological symptoms that can coexist with BVH.
Symptoms:
Common symptoms that are mainly visible in patients suffering from vestibular hypofunction are imbalance, oscillopsia, and impaired spatial orientation. Oscillopsia is the visual blurring or oscillation of objects in the visual field while the head is in motion, and it is experienced by 25–86% of people with BVHP. BVHP can occur as a secondary condition due to a wide spectrum of causes like ototoxicity, meningitis, vestibular neuritis, and encephalitis. But for more than 50% of people, the cause is idiopathic.
Diagnosis and Treatment:
Vestibular tests are performed to help diagnose BVH. Other than that, the following tests are typically carried out to determine the kind of vestibular hypofunction:
Caloric Test
Rotational chair test
Head Impulse Test (HIT)
Vestibular evoked Myogenic potential, (VEMP)
Torsion Swing Test
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Vestibular suppressants and antiemetics are used in the acute phase of patient treatment. Current vestibular rehab involves an exercise-based approach that incorporates four exercise components to address impairments and functional rehab, and those are as follows:
• Exercises for habituating symptoms, such as optokinetic exercises,
• Exercises to develop gaze stability
• Exercises for habituating symptoms, such as optokinetic exercises,
• Exercises to develop gaze stability
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(This article is attributed to Dr. Santosh Shivaswamy, Consultant - ENT & Head and Neck Surgeon, Manipal Hospital Hebbal)
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of India TV)
