Virtual Reality Induced Analgesia for Nasal Procedures

In-office nasal procedures can cause pain and discomfort to otolaryngology patients. While local anesthesia is the mainstay choice for main management, patients may have allergies or contraindications to the anesthetic agents used. Moreover, some procedures may not require it, or patients may benefit from additional pain management techniques. The immersive experience of Virtual Reality (VR) could benefit those patients by utilizing visual stimuli to reduce pain perception in the body. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of VR for pain management, and to assess the overall satisfaction of patients. If proven effective, VR could provide a safe non-pharmacological treatment for reducing pain and improving comfort of patients, thus raising the quality of care in otolaryngology clinic.