Get the screening tools:

downloadDHI Questionnaire downloadALOT² VestiScreen quizTake the DHI Quiz Online

Why Screening Matters

Dizziness and imbalance are among the most overlooked consequences of traumatic and acquired brain injury. In cases involving TBI, ABI, or clinical negligence, attention naturally focuses on the more visible or life-threatening aspects of injury, and vestibular symptoms are frequently missed, minimised, or misattributed to anxiety, fatigue, or “just part of recovery.” Left unscreened, they can quietly become one of the biggest barriers to a client’s rehabilitation and return to work.

For case managers, rehabilitation coordinators, and treating clinicians working with brain injury and clinical negligence cases, this creates a practical problem. Vestibular dysfunction is rarely raised proactively by the client, is easy to miss on a general assessment, and often only becomes obvious once it has already stalled rehabilitation progress or a return-to-work plan. There is real value in having a quick, reliable way to ask “could dizziness or balance be part of this picture, and does it need specialist input?” early in a case, rather than months or years in.

Screening tools close that gap. They give anyone involved in a case, whether clinical or legal, a structured, evidence-based way to identify vestibular involvement early, so that clients get the right specialist pathway sooner, rehabilitation is not quietly undermined by an unaddressed vestibular problem, and cases that require formal medico-legal assessment are flagged without delay.

Who This Matters For

TBI and ABI clients where dizziness, imbalance, or visual disturbance may be present alongside cognitive, physical, or emotional symptoms, but has not yet been formally assessed

Clinical negligence cases where an undiagnosed or delayed-diagnosis vestibular condition may itself be central to the claim, or where establishing the extent of vestibular impairment is needed to support it

Clients struggling to return to work where unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness, or difficulty in busy or visually complex environments is limiting function, but has not been linked back to a vestibular cause

Case managers and rehabilitation coordinators who need an early, objective indicator of vestibular involvement to justify referral for specialist rehabilitation or expert witness assessment

What Good Screening Should Do

A useful vestibular screening tool should:

  • check_circle Take minutes, not hours, to complete
  • check_circle Require no specialist equipment or training to administer
  • check_circle Produce a score or output that is easy to interpret and act on
  • check_circle Help distinguish symptoms that can be monitored from those that need urgent specialist referral
  • check_circle Stand up to scrutiny in a clinical, case management, or medico-legal context

The two tools below are provided as free downloads for exactly this reason: to give anyone supporting a TBI, ABI, clinical negligence, or return-to-work case a reliable first step, without needing a full vestibular work-up to get there.

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Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI)

The DHI is a well-established, validated patient-reported outcome measure that looks at the functional, physical, and emotional impact of dizziness on everyday life. Rather than diagnosing a specific vestibular condition, it captures how much a client’s symptoms are limiting them day to day, which makes it valuable both as an early screening step and as a way to evidence change over the course of rehabilitation or in the run-up to settlement.

Because it is self-administered and takes only a few minutes, the DHI is well suited to case managers building a picture of functional impact, rehabilitation coordinators gathering supporting evidence for a clinical negligence or personal injury claim, and treating clinicians who want an objective baseline before referring for specialist vestibular input.

downloadDownload DHI quizTake the Quiz Online
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ALOT² VestiScreen

The ALOT² VestiScreen was developed by Samy Selvanayagam specifically to give case managers, rehabilitation coordinators, and non-specialist clinicians a fast, structured way to screen for vestibular involvement in TBI, ABI, and trauma-related cases, where dizziness and imbalance are common but easily missed alongside more visible injuries.

The tool was recently featured in CMSUK’s magazine.

downloadDownload ALOT² VestiScreen

How These Tools Help Case Managers, Rehabilitation Coordinators, and Clinicians

Used together or individually, the DHI and ALOT² VestiScreen provide:

  • check_circle Earlier identification of TBI, ABI, and clinical negligence clients who would benefit from specialist vestibular physiotherapy, reducing delays that can stall rehabilitation and return to work
  • check_circle A common language for describing vestibular symptoms and their impact, useful across MDT, case management, and legal team discussions
  • check_circle A defensible, structured record of presenting symptoms and functional impact, useful in supporting rehabilitation funding requests and in medico-legal contexts
  • check_circle A clear trigger point for requesting specialist vestibular assessment or expert witness input, rather than symptoms going unaddressed until they become entrenched
  • check_circle A simple way to evidence progress using repeat DHI scores to demonstrate change over the course of treatment or in the lead-up to settlement

Download the Tools

Both screening tools are available below as free downloads. If a screening result raises questions about a client’s presentation, or you would like to discuss a TBI, ABI, clinical negligence, or return-to-work case, Vestibular Therapy Associates is happy to help, including with specialist vestibular rehabilitation or medico-legal expert witness assessment.

downloadDHI Questionnaire downloadALOT² VestiScreen

play_circle_filledWatch the ALOT² VestiScreen video

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