VNG Testing
What Happens During a VNG Test
VNG testing in Mesa, AZ records your eye movements while you follow a moving light, hold specific head positions, and receive warm and cool air in each ear canal. Those three subtests, ocular motor, positional, and caloric, tell our Doctor of Audiology how each inner ear is responding and whether one side is weaker than the other. Plan on roughly 90 minutes at our Baseline Road office.
Why Physicians Send VNG Patients Here
A VNG rarely stands alone. When results are unclear or both ears look involved, the next tests are down the hall rather than across town: rotational chair, VEMP, vHIT, and posturography are all here in one Mesa clinic. Your recordings are interpreted by an audiologist who spent 16 years in vestibular assessment at Mayo Clinic Arizona, and a detailed report reaches your referring physician soon after the visit.
VNG Testing FAQs
Common questions about VNG testing in Mesa, including how to prepare, what the caloric portion feels like, how long the appointment runs, and when your physician gets results.
Preparation matters more for a VNG than for most tests. Skip food for about six hours beforehand, since the caloric portion can bring on brief nausea. Come without eye makeup or mascara, because the goggles use an infrared camera to track your pupils and makeup interferes with the recording.
Many medications suppress the very responses we are trying to measure. Sedatives, antihistamines, anti-nausea drugs, sleep aids, alcohol, and most vertigo medications usually need to stop 48 hours before testing, though only your prescribing physician should approve that. Bring a driver if dizziness normally leaves you unsteady. Call (480) 265-8067 with questions about your medication list before the day of the test.
The caloric subtest is the part patients ask about most. Warm and then cool air, or water, is introduced into each ear canal for under a minute at a time. That temperature change stimulates the inner ear and produces a short spinning sensation, usually lasting 30 to 60 seconds, while the goggles record how your eyes respond.
It is uncomfortable rather than painful, and it passes quickly. Each ear is tested separately with rest built in between, and you can tell the audiologist at any point that you need a longer break. Most patients feel steady again a few minutes after the last irrigation. A small number feel washed out for the rest of the day, which is why we suggest arranging a ride.
Plan on roughly 90 minutes at our Mesa office for the full battery. Ocular motor testing moves fastest, positional testing takes a few minutes per position, and the caloric portion accounts for most of the appointment because each ear needs time to settle between irrigations.
Interpretation is not instant. Your audiologist reviews the recordings, compares both ears, and writes a report that goes to the physician who referred you, usually within a few business days. Because a VNG is one piece of a larger picture, treatment decisions typically come from that physician once the results are in hand. If an ENT or neurologist sent you, ask their office when to expect a follow-up call.
Usually yes, when a physician has documented dizziness, vertigo, or imbalance and ordered the test. We bill VA Community Care, Vocational Rehabilitation, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, AHCCCS, and most major commercial plans, several of which other Valley practices decline.
Two things are worth checking before your visit. Some plans require a referral or prior authorization for vestibular testing, and because this location shares a tax ID with our sister practice, a few insurers still list us as Ascent at the Baseline Road address. Self-pay patients receive discounted fees with no income qualification, and costs are explained before testing begins. Call (480) 265-8067 and our team will verify your benefits.
The AFA Promise to Every Patient
Whether you're here for a balance evaluation, a diagnostic hearing test, or a new set of hearing aids, you'll be cared for by credentialed clinicians using the same equipment that draws physician referrals from across the East Valley. Every new hearing aid fitting also includes a 45-day trial period, so you can wear your devices through real life in Mesa before you commit.
Patient Stories
See what Mesa and East Valley patients say about the balance testing and hearing care they received at AFA.
Answers for Dizziness and Hearing Loss in Mesa
Advanced balance testing and audiology care on Baseline Road, with most referrals seen within days.
Serving Mesa & the East Valley
Audiologist in Mesa, AZ
Our Mesa office on Baseline Road houses the full vestibular battery — rotational chair, posturography, VNG, vHIT, and VEMP — alongside complete diagnostic hearing care.
- Rotational chair and posturography, rare in Arizona
- Doctor of Audiology care at every step
- VA Community Care, Medicare, and AHCCCS accepted
- Referral appointments within days, sometimes same-day
- All major hearing aid brands, verified with Real Ear
- Serving Mesa and the East Valley since 2013
“Very helpful and willing to educate on what they’re doing as they go and make sure you understand, very patient highly recommend 😊 Went in very nervous, left feeling educated knowledgeable…”— Jon Howard, Google Review
AFA Balance & Hearing Institute
4838 E. Baseline Road, Suite #126, Mesa, AZ 85206
| Monday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM |
| Thursday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM |
| Friday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
Closed daily from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.
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