#5 Part 1: It’s all about Balance! The Vestibular System with Dr. Sharon Cushing and Melissa Hazen

Finally, in the fifth episode of season 5, we get dizzy with the vestibular system. Host Maria Khan, an audiologist and co-producer of the podcast, chats with Dr. Karen Gordon, Dr. Sharon Cushing and Melissa Hazen. Dr. Sharon Cushing was featured in previous episodes; she is an Otolaryngologist at The Hospital for Sick Children, Director of the Cochlear Implant Program and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. Melissa Hazen is a clinical audiologist at The Hospital for Sick Children and a PhD candidate in the Archie's Cochlear Implant Lab, whose research is focused on children with hearing loss who also have vestibular issues and how that translates into developmental and spatial abilities. In the first part of the episode, we defined balance and reviewed the anatomy and physiology of the vestibular system. Then, we discuss what a vestibular deficit can do to someone's day-to-day function.  

Transcript of S5E5

Recorded on July 30, 2025 

Produced by Maria Khan 

Music composed and performed by Dr. Blake Papsin, Otolaryngologist-in-Chief, Department of Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery) at the Hospital for Sick Children