Introduction to Vestibular Disorders

A 90 minutes interactive webinar by the multidisciplinary Balance Disorders and Ataxia Service at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, for GPs to improve their knowledge and skills in the assessment and management of patients with vertigo and vestibular disorders.

Join a Neurologist, Audiologist and Physiotherapist, on how you as GPs can approach the assessment and management of patients who are experiencing dizziness or vertigo, with a focus on vestibular disorders.

This will include better understandings of audiological assessment of the dizzy patient and the role of the vestibular physiotherapist in the assessment and management of the dizzy patient.  

There will be discussions and demonstrations on pertinent testing manoeuvres for the assessment and management of dizzy patients, as well as safety netting for serious conditions and when to refer.

Learning outcomes:

• Diagnose true vertigo and assessing whether vertigo has a central or peripheral cause.
• Apply manoeuvres to assist in the diagnosis and management of vertigo.
• Manage common causes of vertigo, including BPPV, Migraine related vertigo, Vestibular neuronitis and Meniere’s disease.
• Demonstrate the role of diagnostic audiology in the assessment and diagnosis of dizzy patients.
• Explain the role of physiotherapist in the assessment and management of dizzy patients.

Speakers:
Dr David Szmulewicz, Neurologist
Dr David Szmulewicz is an Australian Neurologist, Neuro-otologist and medical researcher.  David is the head of the Balance Disorders & Ataxia Service at the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, founder of the Alfred Hospital Cerebellar Ataxia Clinic, honorary consultant Neurologist at St Vincent’s Hospital and Lecturer at Melbourne University. David is lead investigator on research defining a novel ataxia – Cerebellar Ataxia with Neuropathy and Vestibular Areflexia Syndrome (CANVAS), a project to develop instrumented objective ataxia metrics, as well as the development of an objective oculomotor test of imbalance - the video VVOR.

Nichola Baker, Audiologist
Nichola Baker has been working in diagnostic audiology for many years, with experience at various hearing and balance clinics both around Australia and in the UK.  She is currently the senior Audiologist for the General Audiology, Speech & Balance services at the Eye and Ear Hospital.

Arimbi Winoto, Physiotherapist
Arimbi Winoto is a physiotherapist with a background in Neurology and Falls Prevention and works in Vestibular Rehabilitation in public and private services. She has been the Vestibular Physiotherapist for General Audiology, Speech & Balance services at the Eye and Ear Hospital since 2007.