Jenks Vestibular Lab

Millions of individuals in the U.S. suffer from dizziness, balance difficulties, and other problems caused by malfunction of the vestibular system within the inner ear. Often such problems are mild and short-lived, but sometimes they are severe and disabling. Physicians and scientists at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary are developing devices to stabilize patients who develop severe disabilities.

The long term goal of this lab is to develop one or more devices that will re-supply motion information to those who have lost it because of inner ear injury or disease or aging.

The Jenks Vestibular Laboratories are located at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and are part of the Department of Otology and Laryngology of the Harvard Medical School.

The Vestibular Laboratory was founded in 1986 with the thoughtful bequest of James L. Jenks. The purpose of the Jenks Vestibular Laboratory is to provide patients who are referred by their physicians with state-of-the-art tests which assist the referring physician in assessing balance and dizziness disorders. In addition, nationally funded projects provide for balance-related research.

The four main tests offered by the Diagnostic Laboratory are electronystagmogram (ENG), Sinusoidal Vertical-Axis Rotation (SVAR), visual-vestibular interaction (VVI ), and posturography (EquiTest). The combination of these four tests forms a full test battery. Less frequent tests include a perilymph fistula and limited ocular motility testing.