A modern diagnostic tool to assess one of the body’s most important balance reflexes.
What does it test?
A quick, non-invasive test that assesses how well your inner ear balance system is functioning by measuring the connection between your eyes and inner ears.
This connection is known as the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR).
It works automatically to keep your vision stable and clear when your head moves, so you can keep your eyes focused on a target, even during quick or unpredictable movements.
By analysing how accurately your eyes respond to small, rapid head movements, this test can detect subtle changes in balance function and help identify if one or more parts of the inner ear are not working as they should.
How does it work?
You wear specialised goggles fitted with a high-speed camera that tracks your eye movements in real time.
While you focus on a fixed target, your clinician makes small, quick, and precise head movements. These movements are designed to stimulate each of the semicircular canals, which are responsible for detecting head rotation.
The system simultaneously records your head movements and how your eyes respond. In a healthy system, your eyes movement should be equal and opposite to your head to keep your vision stable.
By analysing this relationship, the test can detect even subtle weaknesses in the balance system and determine whether one or more of the semicircular canals are not functioning as they should.
Results?
An abnormal result can help identify which ear is affected, and more specifically, which part of the balance system is not functioning as it should. Because each of the semicircular canals is tested individually, the results can pinpoint whether the issue lies in the horizontal, posterior, or anterior canal, and whether it is on the left, right or both sides. This level of detail helps clinicians localise the problem within the inner ear. Abnormal findings are commonly seen in conditions such as vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis, where the balance function of one inner ear is reduced. This information, when combined with other test results and your symptoms, helps guide an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management plan.
Management
This information supports a more accurate diagnosis by clearly identifying where the problem lies within the balance system. Knowing which ear and which specific canal is affected allows us to tailor management more precisely, rather than taking a general approach.
It also helps guide targeted vestibular rehabilitation exercises. These exercises are designed to retrain the brain to adapt to the imbalance, improve gaze stability, and reduce symptoms like dizziness and unsteadiness. When therapy is targeted to the specific deficit, recovery is often more effective and efficient.
As an objective measurement, vHIT also allows us to monitor disease progression and recovery over time. Because the results are measurable and reproducible, we can track changes in vestibular function, assess how well compensation is occurring, and adjust management as needed to support optimal recovery.
Appointments are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card
