Validation of the Bilateral Vestibulopathy Questionnaire in English
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of the Bilateral Vestibulopathy Questionnaire (BVQ) in English
IRAS ID
349202
Contact name
David Jay
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 20 days
Research summary
Bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP) is a rare but life-changing condition caused by a loss of signals from the vestibular organs located in the inner ears. These delicate motion sensors play an important role in maintaining balance and our sense of where we are. When their function is reduced or absent on both sides, patients experience severe balance issues, difficulties focusing vision during walking or brisk head movements, and a decrease in quality of life. They can also have poor mobility and increased falls risk. Diagnosing BVP is difficult due to the symptoms being similar to many other conditions, starting gradually without clear severe dizziness, and because we do not yet have a good tool such as a questionnaire to help identify patients with the specific symptoms of BVP.
To address this challenge, a Bilateral Vestibulopathy Questionnaire (BVQ) was initially developed in Dutch, and this has been shown to be reliable and able to identify and understand the experiences of BVP patients. Subsequent work has followed a rigorous forward / backward translation process to produce an English version of the BVQ. This study aims to interview ten BVP patients about the wording and structure of the English BVQ, to make sure that it is just as reliable, relevant and comprehensive as the original Dutch version.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0308
Date of REC Opinion
30 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion