Susanne Gripenberg

Doctoral Project: Balance and motor functioning in children and young adults: aspects of vestibular function and cochlear implants

Principal supervisor:

Associate Professor, Luca Verrecchia Karolinska Institutet Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology - CLINTEC Division of Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases

Co-supervisors:

Associate Professor, Cecilia Lidbeck Karolinska Institutet Department of Women’s and Children’s Health Division of Paediatric Neurology

Senior Professor, Sten Hellström Karolinska Institutet Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology- CLINTEC Division of Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases

Background: 

Vestibular function is a key component of balance and motor control and is essential for typical motor development in infants and children. Vestibular impairment is often present in case of childhood deafness, which is frequently resolved with Cochlear Implant. Despite growing interest in vestibular impairment in children, the influence on balance and motor function is not yet fully understood. Especially in young children there is a need to spread knowledge. Therefore, my research is about how vestibular function interacts with motor functioning in children and teenagers, especially those with hearing impairment and/or motor impairment.

Aims:

To explore how balance and motor functioning in children, teenagers, and young adults with profound hearing loss, relate to vestibular function.

To explore teenagers’ experience of their balance and physical activity, and parents’ perspectives on their child’s motor development.

To find instruments able to screen for vestibular impairment

To create an intervention program for children with motor functioning difficulties related to vestibular impairment.

Methods (instruments):

We have studied cohorts of hearing-impaired children up to young adults age, because of the high prevalence of vestibular impairment and the associated motor consequences in this cohort.

➢ Vestibular function has been assessed using vHIT and cVemp.

➢ Balance, gait and motor functioning have been assessed using instruments such as the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency -Second Edition, Alberta Infant Motor scales and wearable motion sensors (APDM Mobility Lab® Opal System).

➢ Self-reported level of physical activity has been assessed using a questionnaire and standardized questions.

➢Developmental performance has been assessed using Ages and Stages Questionnaires-3.