Abstract
This paper evaluated the diagnostic power of electrocochleography (ECochG) in detecting Ménière's disease (MD) as compared with two subjective assessment methods, including the clinical guidelines provided by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Committee on Hearing Equilibrium and the Gibson score. A retrospective study of 250 suspected MD cases was conducted. The agreement between the three assessment methods was found to be relatively high, with a total reliability being higher than 70%. Participants who tested “positive” with ECochG exhibited a higher occurrence rate of asymmetric hearing threshold as well as the four MD symptoms, namely, vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness. The “positive” ECochG group also showed a high correlation between the ECochG measures in response to stimuli at adjacent frequency ranges, suggesting that the interfrequency ECochG correspondence may be sensitive to the presence of endolymphatic hydrops and thus may serve as a useful diagnostic marker for MD.
Highlights
Meniere’s disease is an idiopathic inner-ear disorder [1, 2]
To facilitate the application of an instrumental, objective, and possibly more reliable approach in the diagnosis of an Meniere’s disease (MD), this study investigated the agreement on the diagnosis of MD between ECochG and the two commonly used subjective methods, the AAO-HNS CHE guidelines and the Gibson score
The ROC curve for the Gibson score appears to have a sharp turn at the cutoff point of seven, which falls on the cutoff value recommended by Gibson [27] to make a positive MD diagnosis
Summary
Meniere’s disease is an idiopathic inner-ear disorder [1, 2] It is characterised by episodes of vertigo, roaring tinnitus, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, and a sense of aural fullness in the affected ear, with a combination of these signs or symptoms fluctuating over months and years [3]. The diagnosis of MD is normally made using the clinical guidelines set by the American Academy of Otolaryngology— Head and Neck Surgery Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium (AAO-HNS CHE) based on a selection of signs and symptoms [4]. To facilitate the application of an instrumental, objective, and possibly more reliable approach in the diagnosis of an MD, this study investigated the agreement on the diagnosis of MD between ECochG and the two commonly used subjective methods, the AAO-HNS CHE guidelines and the Gibson score
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