The Ida Institute recently hosted the Balance Challenge: Working towards a clinically effective person-centered care pathway, in Leicester, England. Held in collaboration with the Ear Foundation, and with sponsorship from Interacoustics, the Big Balance Debate brought together a multidisciplinary team of NHS employees, heads of departments, and hearing care professionals with the aim of finding patient pathways for balance patients.
The workshop looked to address the challenges clinicians face when treating patients with vestibular problems. Together, the group aimed to find effective, person-centered methods to support patients, particularly at the point of diagnosis.
Guest speakers over the course of the two-day initiative included:
- Dr. Jas Sandhu – ENT Clinical Research Fellow & Clinical Scientist (AuD)
- Dr. Diego Kaski – Clinical Research Fellow, Imperial College London
- Natasha Harrington-Benton – Director, Meniere’s Society
Ida is continuing to collaborate with participants to produce tools and materials to support vestibular patients and clinicians. One of these items will be a postcard with two simple questions to help diagnose Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Research has shown that BPPV can be identified in nearly 50% of cases through these questions.
A second tool currently in development is for clinical use to help patients describe what kind of dizziness they experience. Helping patients to articulate the details of the dizziness the experience can help lead to more accurate diagnoses.
These tools will part of a larger section on the Ida website related to balance and dizziness. Check back soon for more information.