Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potential contributor to vestibular dysfunction, though specific correlating parameters remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether hypoxemia severity indices correlate quantitatively with caloric slow-phase eye velocity (SPV), a marker of vestibular function.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and vestibular specialists should consider asking patients with unexplained vestibular dysfunction about sleep apnea history, as nocturnal oxygen deprivation may be a contributing factor worth investigating with a sleep specialist.
Identifying OSA-related hypoxemia as a vestibular risk factor opens a potential interdisciplinary referral pathway between audiology/ENT and sleep medicine.
- 01Nocturnal hypoxemia burden (time with low blood oxygen at night) in OSA patients correlates with vestibular dysfunction.
- 02Published in Clinical Otolaryngology; study design appears observational/correlational.
- 03OSA-specific parameters may be independent contributors to vestibular impairment, not just shared comorbidities.
- 04Findings support screening for vestibular issues in OSA patients and vice versa.
- 05Causal direction is not established; correlation does not confirm that OSA causes vestibular damage.
Nocturnal hypoxemia burden in OSA patients correlates with vestibular dysfunction.
studypartially supportedOSA-specific parameters are contributors to vestibular dysfunction.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42454755
- DOI
- 10.1111/coa.70146.
- Journal
- Clinical Otolaryngology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Patients with obstructive sleep apnea
- Intervention
- Nocturnal hypoxemia burden measurement in OSA
Primary outcomes
Correlation between nocturnal hypoxemia burden and vestibular dysfunction; Vestibular function test results across OSA severity groups