Bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) is a debilitating condition presenting acutely or progressively with oscillopsia, floating sensation, imbalance, and disequilibrium.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the sensitivity of the Barany Society criteria for definitive diagnosis of patients with symptoms of BVH but not meeting the strict criteria and to explore the dissociation of objective testing and subjective...
Audiologists and vestibular clinicians should be aware that the Barany Society BVH criteria may be overly restrictive, but until revised guidelines are published, no immediate change to diagnostic practice is warranted.
If widely adopted diagnostic criteria for BVH exclude patients who genuinely have the condition, it could delay treatment and skew epidemiological data across the field.
- 01Study questions whether Barany Society criteria for BVH are too strict for real-world patients.
- 02Published in Journal of Vestibular Research (2026), a peer-reviewed vestibular specialty journal.
- 03May affect how many patients qualify for a formal BVH diagnosis.
- 04Findings could prompt future revision of international consensus diagnostic thresholds.
- 05Clinicians relying solely on Barany criteria may be under-diagnosing BVH.
The Barany Society diagnostic criteria for bilateral vestibular hypofunction may be too restrictive.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42487364
- DOI
- 10.1177/09574271261471102.
- Journal
- Journal of Vestibular Research
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients evaluated for bilateral vestibular hypofunction against Barany Society diagnostic criteria
- Intervention
- Evaluation of Barany Society diagnostic criteria for BVH
Primary outcomes
Appropriateness and restrictiveness of Barany Society BVH diagnostic criteria