Infrared Goggles: Why Are They Important?
Your child hasn’t been feeling like themselves lately - maybe they’ve been dizzy and off balance, or even have felt vertigo. You’ve been told by your doctor or another member of your healthcare team that it’s happening because of the inner ear (or the peripheral vestibular system). You’re looking for someone to take a look at your child’s inner ear and know what’s going on so that you can help them feel better. I’m your person!
Quick Background on the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex:
The vestibular system is an incredibly complex system that sends information out to and receives information from a number of sources. The beautiful thing is there is a very useful reflex loop that goes from the vestibular sensory organs of the inner ear to the brain and then to the eyes. This is called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (aka VOR or vestibular ocular reflex), and because of how quickly the information is relayed and how little processing of this information happens it gives a really accurate representation of what’s happening with the peripheral vestibular organ.
The VOR is the reason why we can normally turn our head without feeling dizzy or losing our ability to keep our eyes focused. It’s also what keeps our vision clear when we walk, run, or sit on a bumpy bus. The VOR causes our eyes to make little adjustments to their positioning to prevent our vision from looking rough.
What Does Infrared Goggle Testing Tell You?
One of the most valuable parts of the vestibular evaluation I do in my clinic is an infrared goggle (IR goggle), aka video frenzel examination. This allows me to take advantage of the VOR to see what’s going on with the peripheral vestibular system. The infrared camera takes a close-up video so I can see how the eyes are moving while going through a variety of tests for the inner ear. The IR goggle setup lets me put someone into the dark for these tests, which takes away the ability of the brain to correct for any vestibular system errors by taking away visual feedback.
The IR goggle examination results help me diagnose what’s happening with the vestibular system and guide treatment planning. An added bonus is that my system allows me to take videos of the tests so I’m able to show you what I saw during testing and compare results between sessions too.
Have questions or want to know more about what a vestibular physiotherapist can do to help your child? Read about paediatric vestibular rehabilitation, click here to contact me or use the button below to book a free consult call.
Are you an adult looking for vestibular rehabilitation therapy? Read more about vestibular physiotherapy.
Updated: November 2, 2024
