More than a third of adults in the United States seek medical attention for vestibular disorders (conditions that can affect organs within the inner ear) and hearing loss. These disorders can triple fall risk, and can profoundly limit everyday activities.
While we have a good understanding of the relationship between sight and balance, less is known about the role that sounds play in how people balance themselves. Dr. Anat Lubetzky’s Physical Therapy Sensorimotor Lab studies the relationship between what we hear and how we control our balance, and why some people with hearing loss experience balance problems. Read about some of their recent projects below.
Recent Projects
Virtual Reality and Balance
This project used a virtual reality simulation of a busy subway environment paired with real-world recorded sounds from the New York subway system to test how hearing impacts balance in healthy people and people with vestibular disorders.
Participants wore VR headsets while standing on a balancing platform and watching either a dynamic simulation of a busy subway platform, or a static image of the same environment. These visual inputs were paired either with no noise, static, or real subway sounds.
While sound had no impact on healthy individuals, those with vestibular disorders used sounds to help them balance when they were not given moving visual scenes. However, when sounds were paired with the simulation of a busy subway environment, they were most unbalanced. This shows that when one sensory input is lost, other senses can help compensate, but that balance is difficult when senses are overloaded.
To see what the VR simulation looked like, watch this video. To read more about the research, check out this news article. This project was funded by an ECR R21 from the National Institute of Health NIDCD.
Upcoming Projects
Hidden Risk Factors in Fall Risk and Prevention
With more than a third of adults 65 years of age and older experiencing a fall annually, preventative care is crucial for public health and individual well-being in aging. This pilot project, supported by a 2025 CoHRR Seed Award, aims to reduce falls in aging adults.
The study will identify key risk factors that are often overlooked but need to be addressed in fall prevention programs. This study, a collaboration with Mount Sinai Health System and researchers at University of Pittsburgh Department of Physical Therapy, represents a significant and innovative approach towards addressing the public health impact and financial costs of falls.
AI-Facilitated Balance Enhancement
This pilot project aims to develop a sensor-based, AI-facilitated balance assessment platform that can be used anywhere. The goal is to create an assessment that is broadly applicable, and able to serve a diverse range of needs for various populations, each with different balance capacities and specific characteristics. This study is a collaboration between Dr. Elizabeth Coker (NYU Tisch), Dr. Lubetzky, and Dr. Rizzo (NYU Langone Rusk), and is funded by the NYU Langone Clinical and Translational Science (CTSI) award.
Other Projects
There are many other exciting projects ongoing in Dr. Lubetzky’s lab, including research into the connections between balance and brain activity, led by PhD student Tej Mehta. To learn more about the most up-to-date work in the lab, please see the Physical Therapy Sensorimotor Lab projects page.
Dr. Lubetzky has also worked on community outreach, including an interdisciplinary performing arts program in collaboration with colleagues in physical therapy, communication sciences and occupational therapy, as well as the nonprofit Dancing Dreams. The program helped hundreds of children with disabling conditions to learn dance and performance skills, and provided NYU Steinhardt students with opportunities to develop creativity and leadership skills as future clinicians and leaders in their fields. This pilot project is expected to be the beginning of a long-standing collaboration that supports the growth of Dancing Dreams.
Publications
Below are selected peer-reviewed publications related to these projects.
Virtual Reality and Balance
To read research articles on the findings of the VR study, see the two publications below.
Real Sounds Influence Postural Stability in People with Vestibular Loss but Not in Healthy Controls.
Frequency Analyses of Postural Sway Demonstrate the Use of Sounds for Balance Given Vestibular Loss.
Extension of the VR Balance Study: VR and Traumatic Brain Injury
The VR assessment developed at NYU was used to test posture control in patients with Traumatic Brain Injury in a collaboration with a team at Casa Colina Hospital in California.
Moving Sounds Increase Postural Visual Dependence in Adults with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury.
Hearing Loss and Falling
People with hearing loss on one side did not have obvious balance problems in the VR study. However, they were more likely to report a fall in the past year. Balance was worse in people who had a fall in the past year regardless of vestibular testing results. For these findings, see: