Vestibular Physical Therapy Evaluation of Individuals Exposed to Directed Energy

Directed energy has been described as exposure to a unique sound/pressure phenomenon such as infrasonic or ultrasonic acoustic or electromagnetic energy. Following suspected sonic attacks on U.S. Embassies, a subset of individuals presented with a unique cluster of symptoms believed to have resulted from exposure to directed energy. The Joint Force does not have an established protocol to guide the vestibular physical therapy evaluation of individuals exposed to directed energy. Therefore, we sought to provide evidence-based guidance for conducting a comprehensive vestibular physical therapy evaluation in persons exposed to directed energy.

A comprehensive search of relevant databases was performed from 2018 to the present. Four seminal articles were used to inform suggestions for clinical best practice.

The physical therapist should ask open-ended questions to understand what the individual is experiencing and use key questions to focus attention on the mechanism of injury, symptom report, and symptom timeline. The physical therapist should perform an evaluation to determine if the peripheral vestibular apparatus (semicircular canals and otoliths), vestibular nerve, and/or central pathways have been affected by directed energy exposure. Components of the quantitative examination were selected because they provide information on health condition(s), body structure and function impairments, and activity limitations but require little to no specialized equipment.

Evidence-based guidance for conducting a comprehensive vestibular physical therapy evaluation in individuals exposed to directed energy may aid in the identification and diagnosis of unconventional brain injury. This standardized approach can help physical therapists to evaluate complaints that do not match any previously known medical conditions but resemble brain injury or vestibular pathology.