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DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748536
One-Year Vestibular and Balance Outcomes of Oklahoma City Bombing Survivors
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Abstract
This multisite investigation assessed subjective, behavioral, and objective balance function in 30 blast survivors. Subjects with vertigo, dizziness, or imbalance were screened (n = 6) or evaluated (n = 27) during 1 year. Tests included a questionnaire, electronystagmography (ENG), and computerized dynamic posturography (CDP). Ninety-seven percent of subjects were located inside a building during the blast, and 63 percent of subjects experienced dys-equilibrium within 48 hours. Forty-three percent of symptoms could not be attributed to head injury. Sixty percent of subjects had abnormal ENG and/or CDP; ENG abnormalities mostly were peripheral or nonlocalizing, whereas CDP patterns were “vestibular,” “surface dependent,” and “physiologically inconsistent.” At 1-year postblast, 55 percent of initially abnormal CDP results were normal, and 72 percent of subjects said symptoms were unchanged or occurred intermittently. A serial, test battery approach is recommended to assess symptoms. Blast-related dysequilibrium had clinically significant manifestations and should be considered a valid component of aural blast injury.
Abbreviations: BPPV = benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo, CDP = computerized dynamic posturography, dB pSPL = decibel re: peak sound pressure level, ENG = electronystagmography, MCT = motor control test, psi = air pressure measured in pounds per square inch, Q = quarterly evaluations, SHA = smooth harmonic acceleration, SOT = sensory organization test, TNT = trinitrotoluene
Key Words
Acoustic trauma - computerized dynamic posturography - dizziness - electronystagmography - imbalance - vertigo - vestibular blast injuryPublication History
Article published online:
05 May 2022
© 1999. American Academy of Audiology. This article is published by Thieme.
Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
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