JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The subjective visual vertical (SVV) test can evaluate otolith function and spatial awareness; however, it is not widely used because of the requirement of special equipment and space, although it is performed in specialized vertigo centers using special equipment. SVV test smartphone application was developed to easily performed in outpatient facilities.

Objective:

This study aimed to verify whether the subjective visual vertical (SVV) test smartphone application with commercially available virtual reality (VR) goggles can be used in a clinical setting.

Methods:

The reference range was calculated for 15 healthy participants. We included 14 adult patients with unilateral vestibular neuritis, sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) with vertigo, and Meniere’s disease and investigated the correlation between the SVV test results and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) results.

Results:

The SVV range of healthy participants for the sitting front-facing position was small, ranging from -2.6 to 2.3. Among the 14 patients, six (42.9%) exceeded the reference range for healthy participants. The SVV of patients with vestibular neuritis and SSHL tended to deviate to the affected side. Eleven (78.6%) had abnormal VEMP values, nine (64.3%) had abnormal cVEMP values, and six (42.9%) had abnormal oVEMP values. No significant difference was found between the SVV and cVEMP and oVEMP values (p =1.00 and p =0.464, respectively).

Conclusions:

The SVV application can be used anywhere and in a short period while reducing directional bias by using VR goggles, thus making it highly versatile and useful as a practical otolith dysfunction screening tool.