Otolith is a critical component of the peripheral vestibular system responsible for detecting linear acceleration. Dysfunction of the otolith organs can lead to vertigo, balance disturbances, and gaze instability. By elucidating the physiological foundations and evaluating both current and emerging methods for assessing otolith function, this review aims to provide a comprehensive resource for researchers and...
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Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change from this review alone, but clinicians assessing peripheral vestibular disorders should be aware of the evolving evidence base for otolith-specific tests (e.g., cVEMP, oVEMP, SVV) as part of a comprehensive vestibular test battery.
A current synthesis of otolith testing approaches helps clinicians and researchers stay up to date on best practices for diagnosing under-recognised vestibular conditions tied to linear acceleration processing.
- 01Review covers contemporary otolith-organ tests relevant to peripheral vestibular dysfunction diagnosis.
- 02Otolith organs (utricle and saccule) detect linear acceleration and gravity — often underassessed in standard audiological workups.
- 03Clinical significance of tests such as VEMPs and subjective visual vertical (SVV) is discussed.
- 04Published in World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology.
- 05Serves as a reference resource; does not introduce new primary data.
Contemporary otolith testing approaches have clinical significance for assessing peripheral vestibular dysfunction related to linear acceleration detection.
opinionpartially supported- PMID
- 42688623
- DOI
- 10.1002/wjo2.70151.
- Journal
- World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
- Publication type
- review
- Evidence level
- 5
- Population
- Patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction (review of existing literature)
- Intervention
- Contemporary otolith organ testing approaches (e.g., cVEMP, oVEMP, SVV)
Primary outcomes
Clinical utility and significance of otolith testing methods for peripheral vestibular dysfunction