Although cochlear implants can restore hearing to individuals who have lost cochlear hair cell function, there is no widely available, adequately effective treatment for individuals suffering chronic imbalance, postural instability and unsteady vision due to bilateral vestibular hypofunction. Prior research focused on ototoxic cases has demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve via a chronically implanted multichannel vestibular implant can partially restore vestibular reflexes that normally maintain steady posture and vision; improve performance on objective measures of postural stability and gait; and improve patient-reported disability and health-related quality of life. This single-arm open-label study extends that research to evaluate outcomes for up to 8 individuals with non-ototoxic bilateral vestibular hypofunction, yielding a total of fifteen adults (age 22-90 years at time of enrollment) divided as equally as possible between ototoxic and non-ototoxic cases.
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PM1.1: Dynamic Gait Index (DGI)18 during motion-modulated implant stimulation at 4 years post-implantation, relative to pre-operative baseline, aggregated across all implant users.
Timeframe: 4 years post-implantation up to 5 years post-enrollment
PM1.2: Gain (VHITG) of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), as measured using the video head impulse test (vHIT)
Timeframe: 4 years post-implantation up to 5 years post-enrollment