Application of the vestibular disorders activities of daily living scale

Objective: Existing scales of functional performance are either insufficien tly sensitive or omit some important daily life tasks. This paper demonstra tes that a new scale of self-perceived disablement in the vestibularly impa ired population-the Vestibular Disorders Activities of Daily Living Scale ( VADL)-differentiates between disabled and healthy persons and evaluates the associations of this assessment with other measures of vestibular disorder s. Study Design: Prospective, Methods: Subjects were 1) asymptomatic, healt hy adults, 2) patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, 3) patien ts with chronic vestibulopathy excluding Meniere's disease, postsurgical ve rtigo, and postconcussion vertigo, and 4) family members, Patient were asse ssed on the VADL, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, level of vertigo, and c omputerized dynamic posturography. Healthy subjects and family members comp leted the VADL. Results: The VADL differentiates healthy persons from patie nts but does not differentiate between patient groups. Patients perceived t hemselves as more independent than their spouses perceived them to be, Scor es are weakly correlated with vertigo frequency and posturography scopes fo r conditions with unreliable kinesthesia and absent or unreliable vision. T he VADL is more responsive to higher levels of impairment than the Dizzines s Handicap Inventory. Conclusions: This well-normed, self-administered scal e of self-perceived disablement is useful for evaluating the functional sta tus of patients with peripheral vestibular disorders. Perceptions of patien ts and significant others vary, but scores are moderately correlated with s ome standard measures of vestibular function, As it assesses a different do main of function than do standard diagnostic tests, the VADL will augment t hese tests during initial evaluation and may be useful for assessing posttr eatment change.