When Linda Luxon, who has died aged 75 of a brain tumour, began her medical career, few had heard of “audiovestibular medicine”. First recognised as a medical specialty in 1975, it treats a wide range of disorders that affect hearing and balance. The vestibular system controls balance and spatial orientation through organs located in the vestibule, a bony cavity of the inner ear. These organs detect head movement and send signals to the brain so that we stay upright and balanced. When the system malfunctions, dizziness, vertigo and tinnitus can result.

Luxon became a world leader in vestibular diagnosis, giving keynote talks at international conferences, and researched rare genetic hearing-loss conditions such as Usher and Pendred syndromes. She also researched novel vestibular rehabilitation strategies such as virtual reality techniques to help people tolerate the situations that provoked their dizziness and other symptoms.