title: The hidden dysfunction of otolithic organs in patients with profound sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define the profiles of ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP and cVEMP, respectively) in patients with profound sensorineural hearing loss (PSHL).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-nine patients with PSHL and 20 healthy volunteers were investigated. The patients' medical records were collected and analyzed. The ACS-evoked oVEMPs and cVEMPs and caloric test were tested and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The oVEMP and cVEMP response rates in the patients with PSHL were 38.9% and 44.4%, respectively, and these values were significantly less than those in the healthy volunteers (both were 100%). Regarding the oVEMPs, significantly higher threshold (p < 0.001) and smaller amplitude (p = 0.022) were observed in the patients. Regarding the cVEMPs, a significant elevation in the threshold (p < 0.001) and a decrease in the amplitude (p = 0.024) were observed, and marked reductions in the P1 (p = 0.002) and N1 latencies (p = 0.001) were observed in the patients. Regarding the caloric test, the ratio of semicircular canal dysfunction in patients with PSHL was significantly higher than that in healthy volunteers (p < 0.001). However, neither the patients nor the doctors noticed balance problems or the loss of otolithic function in the summaries of the medical records of all 29 of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The utricular and saccular dysfunction that can be concealed in patients with PSHL can be observed in oVEMPs and cVEMPs. Otolithic function should receive attention in the diagnosis and treatment of PSHL. VEMPs have special value for the observation of hidden dysfunctions of the otolithic organs of patients with PSHL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Da
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Ru
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Hao
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: jingwang615@126.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology and Skull Base Surgery, Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Auditory Medical Center, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Hearing Science, Ministry of Health, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: chifanglu@126.com.
authors.forename: Fang-Lu
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Chi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D034381:Hearing Loss; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D010037:Otolithic Membrane / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012444:Saccule and Utricle; D012665:Semicircular Canals; D058585:Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP); Hearing loss; Ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP); Saccule; Utricle; Vestibular function