Effects of migraine disease on the vestibulocochlear system

Abstract

Objective: Migraine patients have tendency to have vestibular and auditory system problems. The aim of this study is to evaluate vestibule cochlear system of patients with migraine with Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) video-nystagmography (VNG) and caloric test. Methods: 39 patients diagnosed with migraine and control group of 21 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Before they were included in the study, all of them were examined and those who has acute otitis media, chronic otitis media, tympanic membrane perforation, external otitis, ear surgery history and head trauma were excluded from the study. All patients and volunteers were tested by TEOAE, VNG and caloric tests. In evaluating the statistical data, SPSS 15.0 was utilized. Results: When TEOAE values for the migraine group and for the control group are compared, it is found statistically significant that the TEOAE values for the migraine group is lower than those for the control group. This result shows that there can be a pathology that is able to affect cochlear functions in migraine disease. As for VNG test results, a statistically significant difference cannot be determined between migraine and control groups. Moreover, the identification of canal paresis in caloric test indicates that peripheral vestibular problems accompany migraine disease. Conclusion: Evaluating vestibulocochlear system of migraine patients with TEOAE, VNG and caloric tests has been an important task for identifying vestibular imperfections accompanying these patients and for predicting potential auricular pathologies. J Clin Exp Invest 2015; 6 (1): 1-4 Key words: Migraine, TEOAE, video-nystagmography