title: Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential elicited from binaural air-conducted stimulations: clinical feasibility in patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) to binaural air-conducted stimulation (ACS) may provide a convenient way of assessing the crossed vestibulo-ocular reflex in patients with vestibular dysfunction as well as in healthy subjects.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical feasibility of using oVEMPs in response to binaural ACS to assess normal subjects and patients with vestibular dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study investigated 24 normal subjects (14 men and 10 women, aged from 23 to 60 years) and 14 patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Each subject underwent oVEMP testing in response to monaural ACS and binaural ACS (500 Hz tone burst, 135 dBSPL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In normal subjects, bilateral oVEMPs were elicited in 75% of subjects in response to monaural ACS and in 91% in response to binaural ACS. Asymmetry ratios (ARs) of the responses to binaural ACS were significantly smaller than those of the responses to monaural ACS (p < 0.01). In patients with unilateral vestibular dysfunction, there were no significant differences in the amplitude, latency, or AR of the responses between monaural and binaural ACS. Approximately 30% of patients showed reduced ARs to binaural ACS relative to monaural ACS, primarily due to contamination by uncrossed responses elicited in healthy ears.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. iwashin-tky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Egami
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Chisato
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murofushi
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasoba
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D058585:Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult