Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology
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Despite complaints of dizziness, some patients with unilateral compensated vestibular weakness show normal results on Sensory Organization Test (SOT), which is being widely used for the evaluation of vestibular function compensation. The head shake-sensory organization test (HS-SOT) has been suggested to increase the sensitivity of SOT. In HS-SOT, the patient is required to shake head under Conditions 2 and 5 of traditional SOT. However, the sensitivity of HS-SOT remains unelucidated in patients with vestibular neuritis. The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of HS-SOT and SOT and compare them with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) in detecting balance problems in patients with vestibular neuritis complaining of dizziness. ⋯ HS-SOT was more sensitive than SOT during the compensation of vestibular neuritis. Specifically, during the compensation of vestibular neuritis, HS-SOT Condition 5 was more correlated with DHI than HS-SOT Condition 2. The results suggest that HS-SOT provides more useful measures for the evaluation of vestibular compensation in vestibular neuritis.