caloric test, a procedure in which the ear canal is alternately irrigated with warm water or air and cold water or air. The warm irrigation produces a rotatory nystagmus toward the irrigated side. Cold irrigation produces a rotatory nystagmus away from the irrigated side. If the vestibular portion of the ear is normal, all irrigations will produce nystagmus that is approximately equal in intensity. If the vestibular portion of the ear is diseased, irrigation may produce less nystagmus than would occur in the normal ear. Also called Bárány’s test. See also electronystagmography.
