The functional head impulse test (fHIT) measures what individuals can see during high-acceleration passive head impulses, quantifying the percentage of correctly identified briefly flashed optotypes rather than inferring gaze stabilization from kinematic eye velocity....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
fHIT may provide clinically meaningful information beyond standard VOR gain metrics, but adoption into routine vestibular test batteries should await larger validation studies.
If fHIT reliably captures multisensory integration deficits missed by VOR gain alone, it could expand the diagnostic toolkit for vestibular audiologists managing complex balance disorders.
- 01fHIT evaluates gaze stabilization during high-acceleration head impulses beyond standard VOR gain measures.
- 02Study probes multisensory integration—how the brain combines inner ear, vision, and body-sense signals.
- 03VOR gain alone may underestimate functional vestibular deficits in some patients.
- 04Findings could influence how vestibular audiologists interpret head impulse test results.
- 05Published in Frontiers in Neurology (2026).
The functional head impulse test measures multisensory integration and gaze stabilization beyond what standard VOR gain captures.
studypartially supportedStandard VOR gain metrics do not fully capture functional vestibular performance during high-acceleration head movements.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42755770
- DOI
- 10.3389/fneur.2026.1913947.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Patients undergoing vestibular assessment with high-acceleration head impulse testing
- Intervention
- Functional head impulse test (fHIT)
- Comparator
- Standard VOR gain measurement
Primary outcomes
Multisensory integration assessment; Gaze stabilization during high-acceleration head impulses