Comparison between ocular-evoked and cervical-evoked myogenic potentials in adults with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract

Background The cochlea and the vestibule share the continuous membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. Moreover, there is great similarity between the cochlear and vestibular hair cell ultrastructures and the common arterial blood supply of the cochlea and vestibular end organs via the same end artery, so vestibular involvement in cochlear damage may occur. Aim The aim was to measure the effect of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss on both cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) and to compare between them in different degrees of hearing loss with or without vertigo. Patients and methods This is a cross-sectional study carried out on 40 adults with different degrees of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The other normal ear was used as a control for diseased ear with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, cVEMP, and oVEMP recorded using air-conducted acoustic stimulus. Results cVEMP and oVEMP were abnormal and absent in 45 and 47.5% of ears, respectively. Moreover, there is no significant relation between the degree of SNHL, cVEMP, and oVEMP response in affected ears. There is a significant association and agreement between cVEMP and oVEMP in unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. There was a significant relation between vertigo and VEMP. Conclusion SNHL affects VEMPs response rate and other parameters, and the functions of vestibular organs are not associated with disease severity. cVEMP and oVEMP were affected equally in unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Hearing loss may be associated with vestibular dysfunction even when there is no history of dizziness.