title: High-frequency skull vibration-induced nystagmus test in partial vestibular lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the effectiveness of the skull vibration-induced nystagmus test (SVINT) as a rapid high-frequency stimulation test, in the evaluation of partial unilateral vestibular lesions (pUVL).
  
  
  METHODS
  SVINT (30, 60, and 100 Hz), caloric, and head-shaking tests were performed in 99 patients with pUVL. These results were compared with those in 9 patients with symmetrical partial bilateral labyrinthine malformations, 131 patients with total unilateral vestibular lesions (tUVL), and 95 control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A skull vibratory nystagmus (SVN) was found in 75% of patients with pUVL and 98% with tUVL. In pUVL: SVINT revealed asymmetric responses in 20% of patients where other tests were normal; SVN direction at 100 Hz was opposite to the head-shaking nystagmus direction in 30% and opposite to SVN at 30 Hz in 10% of cases. At 100 Hz, SVN beat toward the safe side in 91% of cases; SVN values at 60 and 100 Hz were higher than those at 30 Hz (p < 0.005). SVN was found in unilateral superior canal dehiscences. Partial bilateral labyrinthine malformations revealed no nystagmus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SVINT complements head-shaking and caloric tests in multifrequency assessment of patients with pUVL, as a global vestibular test. In contrast with tUVL results, SVINT does not always indicate the side of partial lesions, neither does it locate their level on the vestibulo-ocular pathway. This test is useful to reveal a vestibular asymmetry as a bedside examination test and may be used as a "vestibular Weber."
authors: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Grenoble University Hospital, Grenoble, France.
authors: Georges
authors: G
authors: Dumas
authors: Alexandre
authors: A
authors: Karkas
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Perrin
authors: Karim
authors: K
authors: Chahine
authors: Sébastien
authors: S
authors: Schmerber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009759:Nystagmus, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012886:Skull; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014732:Vibration