Vestibular disease is the loss of balance that follows damage to the inner ear, the vestibular nerve, or the vestibular nuclei and cerebellum. A dog that suddenly tilts its head, rolls and flicks its eyes looks catastrophic, yet the most common cause gets better on its own; the skill is deciding quickly whether the lesion is peripheral or central, because the causes, tests and prognosis split along that line.
Key facts
Vestibular disease at a glance- Species and system: dog; nervous system (special proprioception: CN VIII, brainstem, cerebellum).
- How common: 8 per 10,000 dogs in UK primary care, median age 12.7 years (Radulescu 2020).
- Classic presentation: peracute head tilt, nystagmus and leaning or falling to one side, often with nausea.
- Most common peripheral cause: idiopathic vestibular syndrome (IVS), then otitis media and interna (Orlandi 2020).
- Central clues: postural reaction deficits, altered mentation, other cranial nerve deficits, direction-changing nystagmus.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable (infectious encephalitides on the central list, such as distemper, are handled separately).
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 6 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 12 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.