A group of 262 patients suffering from the after-effects of an acceleration trauma of the neck were subjected to an extensive vestibular examination. 85% of the patients complained of some type of vertigo. The visual suppression test conducted during rotation showed pathology in 37% of the cases. Visual pursuit movements were affected in 43% of the cases. In a group of 41 patients the results obtained respectively 1 and 2 years after the accident were compared. There was no significant improvement of the findings. No oculomotor system pathology was found in 99 cases (38%), and no electronystagmographic pathology at all in 55 cases (21%). The study emphasized the fact that nystagmographic examinations are able to detect central vestibular dysfunction and is therefore a suitable method to prove pathology.

A pilot suffering from Ménière’s disease returned to flying status after a section of the vestibular nerve. The medical history proved to be quite unreliable. Ten years after the nerve section, hearing problems developed in the other ear. Only then was he grounded permanently.

Several aircrew members of a Boeing 737 aircraft were referred to our department because they suffered from a barotrauma. The fast rate of pressure change during the descent of a Boeing 737 aircraft, as compared to the Boeing 747, DC-10 and Airbus 310 aircrafts, is most likely the cause of the development of the barotraumata.