Dizziness Depot

When performing a full vestibular test battery, there is a logical order of the testing. The arrangement of the test rooms is dictated by the order of the test battery typically used for the dizzy patient. Case history interview and audiometric evaluation should be performed first to assess 1) the health and integrity of the ear canal and tympanic membrane

Several months ago I posted an “Open Letter to Dispensing Audiologists” encouraging them to consider adding some vestibular services to their practices. Here are a few practical tips to help get the process started.  Office Layout Fully equipped vestibular practices are rare due to start up expenses and on-going personnel expenses. For the same reason, they must stay very busy

The obvious exception to the logic of my argument in a post several weeks ago is the patient with BPPV or acute vertigo. Li, Li, Epley and Weinberg{{1}}[[1]].Li, J. C., Li, J.C., Epley, J., & Weinberg, L. (2000). Cost-effective management of benign positional vertigo using canalith repositioning. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 122(3), 334–33)[[1]] report that in their study of patients

Questions posed by students{{1}}[[1]]Really smart students[[1]] over the years     I have general questions in regards to establishing a balance clinic for private practice audiologists not associated with an ENT.  Does Medicare require referral for this test the same as audios, etc..and if someone called in off the street with dizziness complaints (other than Medicare insurers) can we do ENG testing without

How much training in vestibular assessment do students really need? Part II   This is the second and final installment in this post from guest blogger Jim Baer, Au.D., faculty member at Lamar University.  This week, Jim wraps up by discussing what he has learned from his students As the course instructor, three things astounded me: First, the students were

We have a guest blogger this week. Jim Baer, Au.D. is a former student of mine, now a faculty member at Lamar University. Jim teaches vestibular assessment and management courses, which gives him a unique perspective on up and coming audiologist’s interests and abilities. Here is his take on the subject:  How much training in vestibular assessment do students really

Several weeks ago, I posted a blog on this site discussing Medicare’s definition of Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP), which is described by the AMA CPT code 92548. I will paste a portion of that post below. In the interim, I worked with the American Academy of Audiology to write to Palmetto GBA (a regional Medicare administrator), basically appealing the decision

A well trained front office staff is critical for any type of medical or allied health practice.  Since vestibular clinics are far and few between, we often get phones calls from patients or potential patients inquiring about what we do exactly.  The following is a short phone script I have prepared for my front office staff.  This helps in two

  Last week, we discussed a recent study that found an association between the use of SSRI’s and an increased risk of falling in patients with dementia. Since SSRI’s are used for depression, let’s look at the connection between depression, dementia and falling. Depression may increase the risk of falling due to sleep disturbances resulting in daytime drowsiness, and nocturia

Hopefully, I have provided some insight as to why there are so few vestibular specialty clinics. Let’s move on to some suggestions for improving the situation. First, from the patient’s perspective, the days of leaving all your health care decisions to your family doctor probably are, and probably should be, over. You need to do a little research on your