Observations of vestibular and oculomotor findings in two young adults with prolonged screen exposure: a descriptive case series

Abstract Background Prolonged screen exposure has become increasingly common among young adults and has been associated with symptoms such as visual fatigue, dizziness, and imbalance. However, objective evidence describing potential vestibular and oculomotor findings in individuals with extensive screen use remains limited. Case series presentation This descriptive case series reports vestibular and oculomotor findings in two young adult males with a history of daily screen exposure exceeding four hours for more than six years. Both participants reported intermittent dizziness, visual fatigue, and occasional imbalance following prolonged screen use. Comprehensive audiological evaluation revealed normal hearing sensitivity and middle-ear function. Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) testing demonstrated prolonged response latencies and reduced amplitudes compared with laboratory normative values. Cranio-oculographic assessment revealed normal vestibulo-ocular reflex function, gaze stability, positional testing, and saccadic performance. Smooth pursuit testing showed reduced pursuit gain and corrective catch-up saccades, particularly during vertical tracking. Conclusions The findings observed in these two individuals suggest the presence of subtle abnormalities in vestibular electrophysiological and oculomotor measures despite otherwise normal vestibular reflex function. Given the very small sample size and descriptive design, no causal relationship between prolonged screen exposure and vestibular dysfunction can be established. These observations should be considered preliminary and hypothesis-generating, warranting further investigation in larger controlled studies.