Vestibular neuronitis in children.

Seventeen cases of vestibular neuronitis in children, including 11 cases from the questionnaires of an epidemiological survey in Japan and 6 patients in our clinic, were examined. Sex and age distribution was 11 males and 6 females, ranging in age from 3 to 15 years. Bilateral and recurrent cases were not encountered. Fifty-three percent of children had had a preceding episode of an upper respiratory tract infection and this ratio was higher than that in adults. The etiology of vestibular neuronitis is probably many-faceted, but it is thought that upper respiratory tract infections play an important role especially in children. Vertiginous symptoms had almost subsided among children at the last visit. However, among adults, 24% of patients felt persisting unsteadiness. The disappearance of positional and positioning nystagmus was observed in 71% of children at the last visit. Caloric CP failed to recover in only 14% of all cases who were re-examined. As shown in this study, the prognosis in children is better than in adults for nystagmus and caloric response. The results of this study thus indicate that not only central compensation but also recovery of the peripheral vestibular function is more effective for bringing recovery from the vestibular disorder in children than in adults.