NCT05004818

Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation as a Novel Treatment for Seasickness

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 54 (actual)
• Sponsor: Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 19 Years – 44 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

subjects with severe seasickness, who failed to habituate to sea conditions after at least six month of active sailing, were enrolled to the single-blind randomized control study. The intervention group was treated with rotatory chair stimulation at sinusoidal harmonic acceleration protocol coupled with galvanic vestibular stimulation to the mastoid processes. This unique procedure was hypothesized to promote habituation to seasickness. The control group underwent a sham procedure. All study participants filled out seasickness questionnaires at set time points following the intervention and underwent repeated step testing to determine their vestibular time constant. The number of anti-motion sickness clinic visits and scopolamine prescriptions was also recorded in the three months period following the intervention.

Conditions

• Motion Sickness
• Seasickness
• Habituation
• Vestibular Time Constant

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	GVS stimulation coupled with inverse phase rotatory chair stimulation at sinusoidal harmonic acceleration protocol	GVS stimulation coupled with inverse phase rotatory chair stimulation at sinusoidal harmonic acceleration protocol
PROCEDURE	Sham procedure	Participants with severe motion sickness were sited in the the rotatory chair with the videonystagmography recorder masking their eyes, while two galvanic vestibular stimulation electrodes were connected to the mastoid processes. No active stimulus was given.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-08-01
• Primary completion: 2018-01-01
• Completion: 2019-07-01
• First posted: 2021-08-13
• Last updated: 2021-08-13