Designed around a gap.
For a long time, patients in Canterbury with complex dizziness and balance disorders had limited options. The Balance Institute was founded to change that.
Vestibular diagnostics, the specialist testing needed to properly identify what's happening in the inner ear, was either unavailable locally or absorbed into general audiology or ENT services where it wasn't the primary focus.
The Balance Institute was founded to change that: a clinic dedicated entirely to vestibular diagnostics, with specialist equipment, specialist training, and the time to do the assessment properly. The result is a service that gives patients real answers, and gives GPs and specialists a trusted place to refer patients who've been difficult to diagnose.
Vestibular diagnostics, the specialist testing needed to properly identify what's happening in the inner ear, was either unavailable locally or absorbed into general audiology or ENT services where it wasn't the primary focus.
The Balance Institute was founded to change that: a clinic dedicated entirely to vestibular diagnostics, with specialist equipment, specialist training, and the time to do the assessment properly. The result is a service that gives patients real answers, and gives GPs and specialists a trusted place to refer patients who've been difficult to diagnose.
Katrin Hobson
MNZAS-CCCFounder, The Balance Institute
Katrin Hobson is an audiologist with more than two decades of clinical experience across private practice, academia, and international consultancy. She began her career in Germany in 1999 at a specialist Tinnitus Retraining Therapy clinic, and has since worked across New Zealand, Australia, and Europe — including as a lecturer in the University of Canterbury's Master of Audiology programme.
The Balance Institute grew out of a gap Katrin identified in Canterbury: patients with complex dizziness and balance disorders had no dedicated local service. She founded the clinic to bring specialist vestibular diagnostic capability to Christchurch in a focused, purpose-built environment.
Katrin is currently serving as President of the New Zealand Audiology Society (MNZAS-CCC). She also holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on healthcare leadership and management.
Based at Forte Health, Christchurch.
The Balance Institute operates from within Forte 2, on level 2 at 132 Peterborough Street, Christchurch Central — a specialist private health facility with direct access for GP and specialist referrals across Canterbury and the wider South Island.
All vestibular assessments are carried out using purpose-built diagnostic equipment in a clinical environment designed for this work.
