Sensitivity and reactivity of the vestibular analyzer in children

Aim: To study the sensitivity and reactivity of the vestibular analyzer in healthy children aged 3 to 14 years. To identify the characteristics of examining children aged 3 to 14 years.

Materials and Methods: Nystagmic thresholds of children between three and seven years were found to be in the area of 8 to 24 radians per second. With age, this amplitude increased to 3 to 30 radians per second, and therefore it was possible to select, for clinical purposes, an optimal angular velocity of 30 radians per second. The reactivity of the vestibular analyzer increased with age, and also, in children over seven, with the increasing speed of rotation.

Results: Children below five were shown to have the least sensitive and reactive vestibular analyzer, while those over seven demonstrated the highest sensitivity and reactivity, which could be related to the development of the vestibular analyzer and the central nervous system.

Conclusions: Nystagmus thresholds in children under 7 years of age are within the range of 8-24 rad/s, with thresholds increasing from 3 to 30 rad/s with age, allowing a minimum angular velocity of 30 rad/s to be adopted for clinical examination. The sensitivity and reactivity of the vestibular analyzer increase with age. The lowest sensitivity and reactivity of the vestibular analyzer are observed in children younger than 5 years old, and the highest in children older than 7 years old, which coincides with the development of the vestibular analyzer and the central nervous system.