Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in patients with contralateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops

We studied vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in nine patients with unilateral profound hearing loss followed by contralateral delayed hearing fluctuation and episodic vertigo. This condition has been called contralateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops. Five of nine ears with profound hearing loss (56%) showed an absence of VEMPs. One ear (11%) showed decreased responses, and three ears (33%) had normal responses. Of the ears with fluctuation of hearing, six (67%) showed an absence of responses, and three ears (33%) showed normal responses. In four patients we recorded VEMPs before and after oral administration of glycerol. Three hours after glycerol administration, two of four ears with fluctuating hearing loss showed the appearance of VEMPs although there was an absence of VEMPs before glycerol administration. These results suggested that saccular dysfunction could exist not only in the ears with profound hearing loss but also in ears with fluctuating hearing loss and that saccular endolymphatic hydrops could exist in the ears with fluctuating hearing loss. “Contralateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops” might be an appropriate term. Received: 22 March 2001 / Accepted: 11 July 2001     

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in delayed endolymphatic hydrops

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) has become an established test to explore the sacculo-collic reflex. The study aims to investigate the VEMPs in cases of delayed endolymphatic hydrops because greatly dilated saccule was observed in histopathological specimens of delayed endolymphatic hydrops. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. METHODS: Twenty patients with delayed endolymphatic hydrops were subjected to pure-tone audiometry, caloric testing, and VEMP test. Delayed VEMP was defined as the latency of peak I exceeding 22.6 milliseconds or of peak II exceeding 33.1 milliseconds. Interaural amplitude difference over the sum of amplitudes of both ears was measured, and when the ratio exceeded 0.36, it was identified as augmented VEMP or depressed VEMP depending on whether the amplitude of the lesioned side was greater or less than the opposite side. RESULTS: The VEMP test revealed that 9 patients (45%) were normal, 6 (30%) exhibited absent VEMPs, and 5 (25%) displayed abnormal VEMPs, including delayed VEMPs in 2, depressed VEMPs in 2, and augmented VEMPs in 1. The caloric test indicated that 9 (47%) of the 19 ears exhibited normal caloric response, whereas 10 ears displayed abnormal caloric responses including canal paresis in 8 and absent caloric response in 2. Six ears had preserved both the caloric response and the VEMPs, whereas no ear demonstrated both absent caloric response and absent VEMPs. CONCLUSIONS: The residual caloric as well as saccular functions after ear insult may determine whether delayed endolymphatic hydrops will occur. These findings suggest that patients with sudden deafness or juvenile unilateral total deafness should undergo caloric testing and VEMP test to predict the occurrence of delayed endolymphatic hydrops in the future.     

甘油对梅尼埃病患者前庭诱发的肌源性电位的影响

目的通过梅尼埃病患者前庭诱发的肌源性电位(vestibulare voked myogenic potential,VEMP)在甘油试验前后的变化情况,了解本项检查在梅尼埃病诊断中的意义。方法对明确诊断为梅尼埃病的10例患者进行甘油试验,比较甘油试验前后前庭诱发的肌源性电位的变化。甘油试验VEMP观察时间段选择两点,服用甘油前及服用甘油后3小时的振幅变化作为指标。结果8例单侧梅尼埃病,其中5例振幅改善(2例振幅增加,3例振幅从无到有),3例甘油试验后VEMP的振幅变差。2例双侧梅尼埃病,1例甘油试验后VEMP振幅从无到有,1例VEMP振幅改善。结论梅尼埃病患者甘油试验后,VEMP变化有以下三种情况:①从无到有;②引出的振幅降低;③引出的振幅提高。甘油试验纯音听力检查结合VEMP的甘油试验有助于梅尼埃病的诊断。     

Augmentation of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials: an indication for distended saccular hydrops

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing has become a well-established test to explore the sacculo-collic pathways in human. The aim of the present study is to establish a clinical indication for saccular hydrops by VEMP testing. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. METHODS: Ten patients (three men and seven women) with Meniere's disease and 10 patients (four men and six women) with sudden deafness were admitted and given pure-tone audiometry and VEMP testing daily. Interaural amplitude difference over the sum of amplitudes of both ears was measured, and when the ratio exceeded 0.36, the test result was coined "augmented VEMP." RESULTS: During admission, three hydropic ears presented with augmented VEMP test results, with increased interaural amplitude difference ratio (mean difference ratio, 0.40+/-0.03). Seven hydropic ears had steady VEMP test results, with a mean interaural amplitude difference ratio of 0.15+/-0.07. Compared with the normal control ears, all had steady VEMP test results, with a mean interaural amplitude difference ratio of 0.14+/-0.11, which is significantly different from the hydropic ears with augmented VEMP test results (P <.05). In another 10 patients with sudden deafness, all had positive steady VEMP test results, with their mean interaural amplitude difference ratio of 0.14+/-0.12, which is similar to that in the control ears. CONCLUSIONS: Augmented VEMP test results are an indication of distended saccular hydrops, whose distended wall is in contact with the footplate. VEMP testing may be beneficial in differentiating the initial stage of Meniere's disease and sudden deafness.     

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and glycerol testing

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The objective was to evaluate dizziness as the first symptom of endolymphatic hydrops, which could provide valuable information on the initial stages of endolymphatic hydrops development. STUDY DESIGN: The present investigation was specifically designed to establish whether a combination of the traditional glycerol test and the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) glycerol test is capable of diagnosing endolymphatic hydrops early and to identify potential Meniere's disease. The study was limited to patients who complained of dizziness as their only vestibular symptom. METHODS: Thirty-eight consecutive patients with dizziness who had received no treatment were investigated. Each patient underwent glycerol testing measured with both conventional pure-tone audiometry and vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing. For the vestibular evoked myogenic potential glycerol test, an increase of more than 20% in both latency and amplitude after glycerol intake was considered an improvement.RESULTS In one patient, the reappearance of the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials was observed. In another six patients, there was an increase in the vestibular evoked myogenic potential amplitudes, unilaterally in four cases and bilaterally in two. One patient showed a bilateral improvement in amplitude and an unilateral amelioration in latency. CONCLUSION: The assumption of saccular dilation as a sign of early Meniere's disease was not supported by the literature, which considered saccular hydrops as the final progression of the dilation of the endolymphatic compartments into the cochlea. These data seem to indicate that in our patients a saccular dysfunction rather than an early saccular hydrops has been documented, confirming vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing as an intriguing diagnostic option for a lesion of this structure. The vestibular evoked myogenic potential glycerol test proved capable of identifying dysfunctions of the saccule that were not otherwise detectable by the routine methods. Therefore, the vestibular evoked myogenic potential glycerol test should be considered as an additional method of diagnosis in patients with vertigo or dizziness.     

年龄因素对直流电刺激诱发的前庭诱发肌源性电位的影响

目的 评估年龄因素对直流电刺激(GVS)诱发的颈肌前庭诱发肌源性电位(cVEMP)和眼肌前庭诱发肌源性电位(oVEMP)的影响。 方法 选择健康志愿者61名(122耳)作为研究对象,22~81岁,平均(45.0±13.8)岁。按年龄分为20~40岁组(26例,52耳)、41~60岁组(24例,48耳)以及>60岁组(11例,22耳),分别记录GVS-cVEMP和GVS-oVEMP。计算GVS-c/oVEMP在不同年龄段的引出率、阈值、潜伏期、振幅、振幅不对称比(interaural amplitude asymmetryratio,IAR),采用SPSS18.0软件进行统计学分析。 结果 GVS-cVEMP在20~40岁、41~60岁、>60岁年龄段的引出率分别为96.15%、89.58%和95.45%,组间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。GVS-oVEMP在20~40岁、41~60岁、>60岁年龄段的引出率分别为98.07%、91.67%和72.13%,随着年龄增长逐渐降低(P<0.05)。从参数分析来看,cVEMP的引出率、阈值、p1潜伏期、n1潜伏期、振幅和振幅不对称比在不同年龄组间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);随着年龄增大,oVEMP的引出率下降、阈值增高、振幅减小(P<0.05),其他参数年龄组间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。 结论 随着年龄的增长,周围前庭系统的功能降低,有可能会对直流电刺激诱发的VEMP产生影响。     

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and Meniere’s disease

The objective was to investigate vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and Meniere’s disease, and to determine if this type of testing is valuable for assessing the vestibular system. A prospective controlled clinical study was designed in a tertiary referral center setting. The 62 participants included 17 healthy controls and 45 other subjects selected from patients who presented with the complaint of vertigo (25 diagnosed with BPPV and 20 diagnosed with Meniere’s disease). The main outcome measures of VEMP were recorded in all subjects and findings in each patient group were compared with control findings. The VEMP for the 30 affected ears in the 25 BPPV patients revealed prolonged latencies in eight ears and decreased amplitude in one ear (nine abnormal ears; 30% of total). The recordings for the 20 affected ears in the Meniere’s disease patients revealed four ears with no response, six ears with prolonged latencies (ten abnormal ears; 50% of total). Only two (5.9%) of the 34 control ears had abnormal VEMP. The rate of VEMP abnormalities in the control ears was significantly lower than the corresponding rates in the affected BPPV ears and the affected Meniere’s ears that were studied (P=0.012 and P<0.001, respectively). The results suggest that testing of VEMP is a promising method for diagnosing and following patients with BPPV paroxysmal positional vertigo and Meniere’s disease. Further investigations with this method in other neurotologic pathologies might also be informative.     

Age-related differences in parameters of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials

Conclusions. The statistically significant correlations between vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) parameters and age may be due to hair cell loss of the otolith organ and/or to degenerative changes of the vestibular neural pathway. These findings indicate that age should be taken into account when interpreting VEMP results. It is also important to determine a standard method for performing VEMP and a universal index for comparison among laboratories. Objectives. VEMP, which measures the surface electric potential from the cervical muscle evoked by sufficiently loud sounds, is a useful tool to evaluate vestibule-colic reflex function. We have assayed the effect of age on VEMP results. Subjects and methods. After excluding subjects with a previous history of dizziness, middle ear pathology, or other inner ear symptoms, a total of 97 healthy volunteers (194ears) were included. All VEMP parameters were analyzed to find differences related to side and gender, as well as the relationship between age and each VEMP parameter. Results. Age was correlated with all VEMP parameters. Latency of p13, n23 showed a negative correlation and amplitude of p13-n23 showed a positive correlation with age. Differences between the right and left sides were not significant.     

Influence of thresholds on amplitudes in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials

Objectives

To investigate the relationship between the threshold and the interaural amplitude difference ratio (IADR) in cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) testing and pursuit the clinical significance of the parameters.

Materials and methods

cVEMP responses were recorded while the SCM contraction was controlled using a pressure cuff. The intensities of the sound stimulation decreased from 95 dB nHL by 5 dB, until no responses were evoked. Thresholds, interaural threshold difference (ITD), amplitudes, and interaural amplitude difference ratio at the stimulation of 95 dB nHL were calculated and the relationship between them was examined.

Results

All subjects showed cVEMP responses bilaterally. Thresholds measured were overall 76 dB nHL and most (92%) ears showed the ITD of 0 or 5 dB. The amplitudes of cVEMP responses showed a positive correlation with the sound intensities, and more specifically with the sound intensity above each threshold value. There was no significant difference in IADR values by the ITD.

Conclusions

Based on our study, the ITD is less than 10 dB in most normal subjects and estimation of threshold should be added to cVEMP testing for probing vestibular asymmetry. Getting a threshold might be helpful in determining whether the abnormal interaural amplitude difference ratio is related to the abnormal ITD.     

前庭诱发肌源性电位对前庭下神经炎的诊断价值

目的　探讨前庭诱发肌源性电位（VEMP）对前庭下神经炎的诊断价值。方法　回顾分析我科眩晕门诊18例前庭下神经炎的临床资料,尤其是VEMP检测结果。结果　18例患者中,15例表现为旋转性眩晕,3例为平衡障碍,所有患者纯音测听、冷热试验及眼性前庭诱发肌源性电位（oVEMP）正常而颈性前庭诱发肌源性电位（cVEMP）异常。其中14例cVEMP检查不能引出,4例振幅低下。3个月后复诊10例患者症状消失,复查cVEMP 9例恢复正常,1例振幅低下;半年复诊18例患者症状全部消失,复查cVEMP只有2例振幅低下,其余均恢复正常。结论　VEMP检查对前庭下神经炎的精准诊断及判断预后有重要临床价值,值得临床推广。     

Properties of binaural vestibular evoked myogenic potentials elicited with air-conducted and bone-conducted tone bursts

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of monaural and binaural stimulation on unilaterally-measured vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) magnitude and latency. The subjects were eighteen normal-hearing adults with no history of vestibular disease. Monaural VEMPs were acquired with air-conducted (AC) and bone-conducted (BC) 500 Hz tone bursts presented at 95 dB nHL and 70 dB nHL, respectively. These stimuli were simultaneously paired with 95 dB nHL contralateral tone bursts at 250, 500, 750, or 1000 Hz during acquisition of binaural VEMPs. Results indicated that AC-VEMP relative magnitudes decreased in each of the binaural conditions compared to the monaural condition. However, no changes in relative magnitude between conditions occurred for BC-VEMPs. Similar latencies were observed for monaural and binaural VEMPs. Differences in bilateral interaction seen between the AC-VEMP and BC-VEMP conditions are consistent with modification of sound transmission through the ear during presentations of binaural sound.     

Clinical application of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in healthy newborns

OBJECTIVE: Auditory and vestibular functions have critical importance in infancy because they may affect motor and mental development. We aimed to determine the normal values of the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) parameters to provide a reference for further research regarding the early diagnosis of vestibular dysfunction in newborns. METHODS: Twenty-four term newborns (12 girls, 12 boys), with birth weights greater than 2500 g and Apgar scores higher than 7 at 1 min, were studied. Tympanometry, auditory-evoked brainstem responses, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions, and VEMP recordings were assessed in all subjects during fourth week after birth. RESULTS: All newborns passed the audiologic evaluation, and biphasic waveforms of the VEMP were obtained in all 48 tested ears. Mean latencies of p13, n23, and p13-n23 intervals were 13.7+/-1.1, 20.5+/-1.6, and 7.1+/-2.1 ms, respectively. The mean amplitude value was 22.6+/-18.4 microV. There were no significant differences in latency values or amplitudes with regard to sex or side of ear tested in newborns. CONCLUSIONS: VEMP may easily be used for early evaluation of vestibular dysfunction in newborns. Because results may differ owing to test techniques and age, every laboratory should have its own normal values.     

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in Behcet’s disease

The aim of this study was to investigate vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and their clinical significance in Behcet’s disease. Twenty-six patients with Behcet’s disease and 25 healthy volunteers were evaluated for pure tone audiometry, caloric response, and VEMPs. Sensorineural hearing loss was found in 53.8% of patients with Behcet’s disease, which was significantly higher than controls. Four patients had canal paresis, but no controls; this difference was not significant. Although VEMP recordings were elicited in all study subjects, mean p13 and n23 latencies were prolonged in Behcet’s patients compared with controls. Seven patients had delayed VEMP responses. There were no correlations regarding p13 values and age, duration or activity of disease, vertigo, or sensorineural hearing loss. The results of this preliminary study suggest an association between delayed VEMP responses and Behcet’s disease. Further research with large samples is needed to confirm that VEMP testing is useful to diagnose and follow vestibular dysfunction in Behcet’s disease. This study has been presented at the XXIX. National Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Congress, Antalya, Turkey, May 26–31, 2007. This study was supported by a Baskent University Research Foundation grant (Project No. KA04/188).     

Frequency sensitivity range of the saccule to bone-conducted stimuli measured by vestibular evoked myogenic potentials

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) occurring in cervical muscles after intense sound stimulation conducted by air or bone are thought to be a polysynaptic response of otolith-vestibular nerve origin. We report the results of an experiment to investigate whether acoustic stimulation of the saccule by bone conduction produces VEMPs in which response amplitudes are somewhat sensitive to stimulus frequency, as appears to be the case with air-conducted stimuli. Prior to this we investigated the effect of stimulation repetition rate on bone-conducted VEMPs (B-VEMPs) at stimulus frequencies of 200 and 400 Hz with five different repetition rates (5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 Hz). B-VEMPs were recorded from 12 normal hearing subjects in response to bone-conducted 70 dB (normal hearing level), 10-ms tone bursts (rise/fall TIME=1 ms and plateau TIME=8 ms) at frequencies of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 Hz. Our study showed that B-VEMP amplitudes were highest at 10 Hz but decreased as the repetition rate increased. B-VEMP response amplitudes were found to be maximal for stimulus frequencies from 200 to 400 Hz. This response may contribute to the perception of loud sounds.     

Comparison of furosemide-loading cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials with magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops

Abstract

Background

Furosemide-loading cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (FVEMP), in which vestibular function is improved via diuretics-induced dehydration, can be used to estimate the presence of endolymphatic hydrops, one characteristic of Menière’s disease. Inner ear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also reveal endolymphatic hydrops.

Aims/Objective: This study aimed to compare and confirm the usefulness of these two examination methods for the diagnosis of Menière’s disease.     

Visualization of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Meniere's disease

OBJECTIVE: Recently, there have been many reports of intratympanic gentamicin therapy for the treatment of intractable Meniere's disease. Intratympanic administration of steroids has also been used to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss. We attempted to visualize how the intratympanically administered drug enters the inner ear. METHODS: Gadolinium hydrate diluted eightfold with saline was injected intratympanically through the tympanic membrane using a 23 G needle in nine patients with inner ear diseases. With a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit, three-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (3D-FLAIR) imaging was performed. RESULTS: 3D-FLAIR MRI clearly revealed that the gadolinium entered the perilymphatic space and delineated the perilymphatic and endolymphatic spaces of the inner ear. In patients with endolymphatic hydrops, the perilymphatic space surrounding the endolymph was small or had disappeared. Gadolinium appeared first in the scala tympani of the basal turn of the cochlea and the perilymphatic space of the vestibule. One day after the intratympanic injection of gadolinium, the gadolinium was observed in almost all parts of the perilymph. Six days after the intratympanic injection, the gadolinium had almost disappeared from the inner ear. CONCLUSION: We reported the first visualization of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Meniere's disease. The relationship between the image of the endolymphatic space and functional tests, such as electrocochleography and vestibular-evoked myogenic potential, must be examined in the near future. It is important for the development of intratympanic drug therapies for inner-ear diseases to investigate how the drugs enter and leave the inner ear.     

A possible mechanism of the formation of endolymphatic hydrops and its associated inner ear disorders

The pathology of Meniere’s disease (MD) is well established to be endolymphatic hydrops. However, the mechanism underlying deafness and vertigo of MD or idiopathic endolymphatic hydrops is still unknown. In order to evaluate the pathogenesis of deafness and vertigo in MD, it seems to be rational to investigate the interrelationship between hydrops and inner ear disorders using animals with experimentally-induced endolymphatic hydrops. In spite of intense efforts by many researchers, the mechanism of vertiginous attack has been unexplained, because animals with experimental hydrops usually did not show vertiginous attack.Recently, there are two reports to succeed to evoke vertiginous attack in animals with experimental hydrops. In the present paper were first surveyed past proposals about underlying mechanism of the development of hydrops and inner ear disorders associated with hydrops, and were discussed the pathogenetic mechanism of vertiginous attack in hydrops. In conclusion, abrupt development of hydrops was thought to play a pivotal role in the onset of vertiginous seizure.     

量化的胸锁乳突肌表面肌电对颈部前庭诱发肌源性电位的影响

目的 测试不同头位状态下的胸锁乳突肌肌电和颈部前庭诱发肌源性电位(cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential,cVEMP),分析胸锁乳突肌表面肌电与cVEMP各参数之间的关系,探讨量化后的胸锁乳突肌表面肌电对cVEMP的影响.方法 选取无耳疾史、听力和前庭功能正常、经cVEMP测试波形分化良好的健康青年人30名(60耳),分别记录在不同向对侧偏向头位(与矢状位呈90°、60°、45°和30°)下的胸锁乳突肌表面肌电和cVEMP,分析量化后的表面肌电与cVEMP振幅和潜伏期之间的关系,并进行统计学分析.结果 cVEMP的P1和N1的总体潜伏期分别为(12.50±2.39)ms和(19.79±3.16)ms,不同头位下的差异无统计学意义(F值分别为0.86和0.52,P值分别为0.46和0.67).不同头位下的胸锁乳突肌表面肌电差异具有统计学意义(F=146.63,P＜0.01),cVEMP的P1-N1振幅随头位及胸锁乳突肌表面肌电的变化而变化,差异亦具有统计学意义(F=55.47,P＜0.01).将多次不同肌电下记录到的cVEMP振幅与胸锁乳突肌表面肌电进行线性拟合模型检验,拟合函数为Y=0.769X(r2 =0.591,校正r2=9.590).结论 cVEMP的潜伏期与胸锁乳突肌肌电大小无关,而cVEMP振幅与胸锁乳突肌表面肌电存在明显的正线性相关.选择合适的头位记录cVEMP,特别是量化肌电与振幅的关系,将有利于增强cVEMP临床应用的敏感性和准确性.     

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions and glycerol testing in endolymphatic hydrops

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Aural fullness is a frequent symptom of endolymphatic hydrops. Its evaluation may provide valuable information on the initial stage of development of endolymphatic hydrops. STUDY DESIGN: The present investigation was specifically designed to ascertain the ability of the glycerol test, combined with pure tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) testing, to diagnose endolymphatic hydrops early and to identify patients who may evolve toward Meniere's disease. For these purposes, patients who complained about aural fullness as their only audiologic symptom were selected. METHODS: This investigation consisted of 19 consecutive patients with unilateral or bilateral aural fullness who received no treatment. Each patient underwent glycerol testing measured with conventional pure tone audiometry and with both DPOAEs. For the traditional pure-tone glycerol test, a hearing improvement of at least 10 dB, at the lower two or three frequencies (125, 250, and 500 Hz), was judged as a positive result. For the DPOAE glycerol test, a smaller positive difference (5 dB) for at least three frequencies was interpreted as an ameliorative fluctuation. RESULTS: The outcomes of the glycerol tests (24 ears examined) showed variable patterns. Seven ears showed no significant changes of either the pure-tone audiogram or DPOAE. In seven other ears, the comparison of the traditional glycerol test and the DPOAE glycerol test indicated an improvement in both measures. Another seven ears showed negative glycerol tests, whereas DPOAE responses gradually recovered reaching levels significantly higher than those recorded before glycerol administration. The three remaining ears showed contrasting results. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with aural fullness in the absence of other associated symptoms may potentially be in the initial stages of Meniere's disease. This notion is confirmed by the present findings showing a high rate (58%) of positive glycerol tests in the selected patients. The importance of DPOAE testing is supported by their ability to detect minimal dysfunction, possibly representing endolymphatic hydrops that goes undetected by routine pure-tone audiometry.     

Potential application of ocular and cervical vestibular‐evoked myogenic potentials in meniere's disease: A review

By stimulating the ear with air‐conducted sound or bone‐conducted vibration stimuli, vestibular‐evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) can be recorded on the contracted neck muscles, termed cervical VEMP (cVEMP), and on the extraocular muscles, termed ocular VEMP (oVEMP). These two electrophysiological tests expand the test battery for clinicians to explore the dynamic otolithic function, adding a potential usefulness to the sacculocollic reflex and vestibulo‐ocular reflex, respectively. The inner ear test battery, including audiometry, and cVEMP, oVEMP and caloric tests, is designed for complete evaluation of the inner ear function, namely, the cochlea, saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals, respectively. Using this test battery to study the localization and prevalence of hydrops formation reveals that the declining function in the cochlea, saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals mimics the declining sequence of hydrops formation in temporal bone studies. This study reviewed the physiological results in Meniere's patients via the inner ear test battery, especially the potential application of the oVEMP and cVEMP tests, to correlate with the histopathological findings of Meniere's disease. Laryngoscope, 2012