Balance and Vestibular Program

About vestibular problems                                    

                                                                                                                                          
A child's ability to balance is mainly controlled by her:

• inner ear function
• vision
• proprioception (the way her feet, legs and body position tell her where she is in relation to the world around her)

To ensure that a child’s gross motor skills develop correctly, diagnosing and treating suspected balance issues in very young children is crucial.

However, recognizing these issues in young patients can be tricky:

• It’s normal for children who are just learning to walk to experience balance problems. This means that, even if a young child has a vestibular problem, his parents and his pediatrician may not suspect that anything is wrong.
   
• Other symptoms that would suggest a balance condition, like dizziness, are hard to diagnose if the patient is too young to effectively communicate what he is feeling.

To deal with these difficulties, the Boston Children’s Hospital Balance and Vestibular Program combines cutting-edge technology with caring, professional specialists. Our clinicians have significant experience in diagnosing and addressing vestibular problems and in working with children of all ages.  

Learn more about some of the conditions we evaluate.