The functional head impulse test: preliminary data

The functional head impulse test is a new test of vestibular function based on the ability to recognize the orientation of a Landolt C optotype that briefly appears on a computer screen during passive head impulses imposed by the examiner over a range of head accelerations. Here we compare its results with those of the video head impulse test on a population of vestibular neuritis patients recorded acutely and after three months from symptoms onset. The preliminary results presented here show that while both tests are able to identify the affected labyrinth and to show a recovery of vestibular functionality at three months, the two tests are not redundant, but complementary.