ReviewJournal of the American Academy of Audiology2026
Towards Policy Integration of Vestibular Management in Pediatric Hearing Health Care: Global Service Delivery Gaps with Relevance to Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries.
Review in Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Vestibular dysfunction (VD) is a common yet often overlooked comorbidity in children with hearing loss, particularly those with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), congenital anomalies, or cochlear implants. These challenges are global, but they are especially critical in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including South Africa, where diagnostic resources and service integration are limited. Motor development, gaze stability, school performance, and quality of life (QoL) are affected by VD, yet it is seldom included in pediatric hearing health-care frameworks or routine clinical practice. Purpose: This review synthesizes global evidence of VD in children with hearing loss and examines how vestibular care is integrated into pediatric audiology with a focus on service delivery gaps and policy implications in LMIC contexts. Methods: A narrative review of peer-reviewed literature (2015-2025) was conducted using databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were thematically analyzed for prevalence, assessment and management practices, developmental impacts, and policy considerations. Results: An estimated 20 to 85 percent of children with hearing loss, depending on diagnostic tools, age, and underlying etiology, are affected by VD, which contributes to delayed motor milestones, reduced balance control, learning challenges, and poorer psychosocial adjustment. Despite the prevalence and developmental impact of VD, vestibular care remains inconsistently implemented worldwide. Major gaps persist in pediatric-appropriate diagnostic protocols, rehabilitation strategies, workforce training, and policy integration. These limitations are most pronounced in LMICs, where audiology services are often constrained by limited infrastructure and competing health priorities. Conclusions: Integrating vestibular assessment and management into pediatric audiology represents a critical step toward comprehensive and equitable child hearing health care. Coordinated policy development, capacity building, and context-adapted clinical pathways are urgently required to close this gap globally. Clinical Relevance Statement: This review highlights the importance of incorporating vestibular considerations into pediatric audiology practice. Feasible screening and rehabilitation strategies may improve developmental outcomes, enhance educational participation, and strengthen more holistic and multidisciplinary models of care for children with hearing loss.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.