A test of the inner ear in which hot water or ice is instilled in the ear and eye movements are observed; performed on patients with ear disease or injury or those with symptoms of dizziness or fainting.
A procedure used to determine whether abnormalities or disease are present in the inner ear of a person experiencing dizziness, balance problems, or hearing loss. The test is usually part of a group of diagnostic methods called electronystagmography (ENG) that evaluates the function of the vestibular system (inner ear nerve system essential to balance) and associated areas of the brain.
A test of the ear’s balancing organ properties. It is performed by squirting cold and hot water alternately into the ear through a syringe. This usually stimulates the vestibular apparatus, causing nystagmus, a rapid jerky eye movement. If the vestibular apparatus is affected by disease, the response may be absent or reduced.
A procedure used to assess vestibular function in patients who complain of dizziness or exhibit standing balance disturbances or unexplained sensorineural hearing loss. With the patient supine, each ear canal is irrigated with warm (44°C) water for 30 sec, followed by irrigation with cold (30°C) water. Warm water elicits rotatory nystagmus to the side being irrigated; cold water produces the opposite reaction (i.e., nystagmus to the opposite side).
An approach employed to determine the presence of pathology within the labyrinth of the inner ear. The administration of a caloric test forms an integral component of examinations conducted to assess vertigo (a sensation of dizziness) and hearing impairment.
The auditory passage in the outer ear undergoes a brief irrigation with water at temperatures above and below the normal body temperature. This irrigation initiates convection currents within the semicircular canals situated in the inner ear. In the presence of a healthy labyrinth, a predictable period of nystagmus (rapid involuntary eye movements) ensues. However, if the labyrinth is afflicted by disease, this response may either be absent or diminished. The presence and duration of nystagmus can be directly observed or electrically recorded through the utilization of electronystagmography.