(A810) Correlation Between Dizziness Handicap Scores and Vestibular Diseases

Introduction: This study investigates correlations between vestibular diagnosis and dizziness-related disability using overall DHI score and sub-domain analysis with the aim of helping clinicians tailor patient treatment.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 80 adults treated at a specialty vestibular care clinic in 2024 was performed. Diagnoses included benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular migraine (VM), unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction, central vestibular dysfunction, and multi-system balance disorder. DHI scores and associated non-dizzy symptoms were recorded and underwent statistical analysis.

Results: The cohort average age was 61.7 years (range 13-91) and 63% were female (n=50). The average overall DHI scores for each diagnosis were 53 for VM, 50 for multisystem balance disorder, 40 for BPPV, 39 for unilateral vestibular dysfunction, and 36 for central vestibular dysfunction. DHI scores of VM were significantly higher than those of patients with BPPV by 12 points (p-value 0.0374). Disease specific sub-domain analysis found that patients with BPPV had a significantly higher physical and functional subcores than emotional subscore (physical: 16, functional: 14, emotional: 10, p-value 0.024). Non-BPPV etiology of vestibular disease had no difference in subscores. Of the associated non-dizzy symptoms, hearing loss, tinnitus, and anxiety/depression were the most common across all vestibular diagnosis.

Conclusions: DHI sub-scores and associated symptoms provide a more comprehensive understanding of disease specific dizziness-related disability than the overall DHI score. Patients with VM experience notably high levels of dizziness handicap and may benefit from multi-modality treatment, such as referral to address emotional aspects of disease burden. In contrast, high functional and physical subdomain scores associated with BPPV suggest referral to vestibular rehabilitation may offer the most effective and targeted treatment for their disease-specific disability.