Background: Dizziness is a common presenting symptom in the emergency department (ED). The HINTS exam, a battery of bedside clinical tests, has been shown to have greater sensitivity than neuroimaging in ruling out stroke in patients presenting with acute vertigo. The present study sought to assess practice patterns in the assessment of patients in the ED with peripherally-originating vertigo with respect to utilization of HINTS and neuroimaging. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed using data pertaining to 500 randomly selected ED visits at a tertiary care centre with a final diagnostic code related to peripherally-originating vertigo between January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2014. Results: A total of 380 patients met inclusion criteria. Of patients presenting to the ED with dizziness and vertigo and a final diagnosis of non-central vertigo, 139 (36.6%) received neuroimaging in the form of CT, CT angiography, or MRI. Of patients who did not undergo neuroimaging, 17 (7.1%) had a bedside HINTS exam performed. Almost half (44%) of documented HINTS interpretations consisted of the ambiguous usage of “HINTS negative” as opposed to the terminology suggested in the literature (“HINTS central” or “HINTS peripheral”). Conclusions: In this single-centre retrospective review, we have demonstrated that the HINTS exam is under-utilized in the ED as compared to neuroimaging in the assessment of patients with peripheral vertigo. This finding suggests that there is room for improvement in ED physicians’ application and interpretation of the HINTS exam.

Background: Vertigo remains a diagnostic challenge for primary care, emergency, and specialist physicians. Multidisciplinary clinics are increasingly being employed to diagnose and manage patients with dizziness. We describe, for the first time in Canada, the clinical characteristics of patients presenting with chronic and acute dizziness to both a multidisciplinary chronic dizziness clinic (MDC) and a rapid access dizziness (RAD) clinic at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all patients presenting to the MDC and RAD clinics at TOH from July 2015 to August 2017. Results: Overall, 211 patients (median age: 61 years old) presented to the RAD clinic and 292 patients (median age: 55 years old) presented to the MDC. In the RAD clinic, 63% of patients had peripheral dizziness, of which 55% had BPPV, and only one patient had functional dizziness. Interestingly, only 25% of RAD diagnoses were concordant with emergency department diagnoses; moreover, only 33% of RAD patients had HiNTS completed, while 44% had CT scans, of which only one scan had an abnormal finding. Prior to assessment, all patients in the MDC had an unclear cause of dizziness. 28% of patients had vestibular dizziness and 21% had functional dizziness, of which 43% had persistent postural perceptual dizziness. Moreover, 12% of patients with functional dizziness also suffered from comorbid severe anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Dizziness is a heterogeneous disorder that necessitates multidisciplinary care, and clinics targeting both the acute and chronic setting can improve diagnostic accuracy, ensure appropriate diagnostic testing, and facilitate effective care plans for patients with dizziness.

Introduction: Menière's Disease (MD) is a disorder of the inner ear consisting of episodic attacks of vertigo associated with aural fullness, tinnitus, and fluctuating hearing loss. Hearing levels in MD can often fluctuate over time, and may eventually decline permanently in a step-wise fashion. There are no current studies examining daily hearing fluctuations for prolonged periods in patients with MD. Portable audiometry has the potential to allow the patient to monitor their hearing on a daily basis without attending a center for formal audiology. The objective of this pilot study was to assess feasibility of using iPad-based audiometry on a daily basis to capture hearing fluctuations in a small sample of adult patients with active MD. Methods: We recruited five patients with active MD as defined by current diagnostic criteria (International Classification of Vestibular Disease 2015). “Active” MD was defined as the patient having had at least one typical Menière's episode within the last 4 weeks. Patients were trained on how to use the portable audiometer and asked to perform at least daily audiograms for 3 months. Patients were asked to manually track vertigo attacks in a diary. Qualitative feedback was obtained from each patient at each monthly visit. For each patient, individual pure tone thresholds at each frequency and pure-tone averages (PTA) were analyzed for maximum and minimum values and interquartile ranges. Results: There were four women and one man, with an average age of 49.8 years. Duration of MD ranged from 4 months to 5 years. None of the patients experienced any technical difficulties performing the testing at home. The average duration of each test was 4.2 minutes, with the longest test taking 19.2 minutes. Patients completed between 45 and 102 tests, with an average of 72. The interquartile range for the PTA ranged from 2.5 to 25 dB for affected ears, and 0 to 6.25 dB for unaffected ears with maximums ranging from 5 to 35 dB in affected ears, and 0 to 10 dB in unaffected ears. Conclusions: Daily portable audiometry is feasible in patients with MD. Future studies are planned to further analyze hearing fluctuations in MD with respect to frequencies affected, relationship to vertigo attacks, and response to treatments. Understanding hearing fluctuations in MD may aid refinement of diagnostic criteria and improve prognostication for long-term hearing loss, with a goal of informing treatments that might improve final hearing outcome.

Background: The bedside head impulse test (bHIT) is a clinical method of assessing the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). It is a critical component of the bedside assessment of dizzy patients, and can help differentiate acute stroke from vestibular neuritis. However, there is evidence showing the bHIT is often not performed in appropriate clinical settings or is performed poorly. To date, there have been no studies evaluating the bHIT competence of graduating physicians. Methods: 23 final year Otolaryngology –Head &Neck Surgery (OTL-HNS) residents in Canada were evaluated on the use of bHIT using a written multiple-choice examination, interpretation of bHIT videos, and performance of a bHIT. Ratings of subject bHIT performance were completed by two expert examiners (DT, DL) using the previously published Ottawa Clinic Assessment Tool (OCAT). Results: Using a cut-off of an OCAT score of 4 or greater, only 22% (rater DT) and 39% (rater DL) of residents were found able to perform the bHIT independently. Inter-rater reliability was fair (0.51, interclass correlation). The mean scores were 65% (14.1% standard deviation) on the video interpretation and 71% (20.2% standard deviation) on the multiple-choice questions. The scores on multiple choice examination did not correlate with bHIT ratings (Pearson r = 0.07) but there was fair correlation between video interpretation and bHIT ratings (Pearson r = 0.45). Conclusion: Final year OTL-HNS residents in Canada are not adequately trained in performing the bHIT, though low interrater reliability may limit the evaluation of this bedside skill. Multiple choice examinations do not reflect bHIT skill. These findings have implications for development of competency-based curricula and evaluations in Canada in critical physical exam skills.

Background: Chronic dizziness can cause significant functional impairment. Outcome measures used in this patient population have not been examined systematically. Consequently, providers lack consensus on the ideal outcome measures to assess the impact of their interventions. Objective and Methods: We conducted a scoping review to summarize existing literature on outcomes in chronic dizziness (with a minimum of 6 mo of patient follow-up). Among other details, we extracted and analyzed patient demographics, medical condition(s), and the specific outcome measures of each study. Results: Of 19,426 articles meeting the original search terms, 416 met final exclusion after title/abstract and full-text review. Most studies focused on Ménière's disease (75%) and recurrent benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (21%). The most common outcome measures were hearing (62%) and number of attacks by American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery criteria (60%). A minority (35%) looked formally at quality-of-life metrics (Dizziness Handicap Index or other). Conclusions: Ménière's disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo are overrepresented in literature on outcome assessment in chronic dizziness. Objective clinical measures are used more frequently than quality-of-life metrics. Future work is needed to identify the optimal outcome measures that reflect new knowledge about the most common causes of chronic dizziness (including persistent postural-perceptual dizziness and vestibular migraine) and consider what is most important to patients.

Background/Objectives: Vestibular migraine is a common but often underrecognized cause of dizziness in otolaryngology practice. Although awareness has increased, variation in clinician training and management may contribute to inconsistent care. This study evaluated current diagnostic and treatment practices of Canadian otolaryngologists for vestibular migraine, including familiarity with diagnostic criteria, therapeutic approaches, perceived barriers, and educational needs. Methods: A national cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed to practicing and emeritus members of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery from February to April 2025. The 14-item survey assessed demographics, clinical exposure to dizzy patients, residency training, diagnostic familiarity, treatment patterns, referral practices, barriers to care, and preferred educational resources. Responses were anonymized and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Forty-four otolaryngologists completed the survey (response rate: 7.4%). Most respondents reported being very familiar (59.1%) or moderately familiar (38.6%) with vestibular migraine diagnostic criteria, and 97.7% reported currently diagnosing and/or treating these patients. However, only 15.9% had received extensive residency training specific to migraine or vestibular migraine. Common treatments included lifestyle and dietary modification (90.9%), nutraceutical supplements (59.1%), tricyclic antidepressants (54.5%), and analgesics (52.3%). Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (29.5%) and calcitonin gene-related peptide-targeted therapies (<10%) were used less frequently. Major barriers were clinical time constraints (65.9%), lack of training or knowledge (54.5%), and diagnostic complexity (47.7%). Clinical guidelines (70.5%) and continuing medical education courses (65.9%) were identified as the most valuable supports. Conclusions: Among surveyed Canadian otolaryngologists engaged in dizziness and vestibular migraine care, substantial heterogeneity existed in training and management practices. Standardized guidance, enhanced education, and interdisciplinary collaboration may improve consistency of care and patient outcomes.