This study investigated the localization and prevalence of hydrops formation in 20 patients with unilateral Ménière’s disease using a battery of tests, including audiometry, caloric, ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical VEMP (cVEMP) tests. The latter two tests used air-conducted sound (ACS) and bone-conducted vibration (BCV) as stimuli. Thirteen patients (65%) had abnormal hearing with a 4-tone average >26 dBHL. In the caloric test, 4 patients (20%) had abnormal responses, including canal paresis in 3 and caloric areflexia in 1 patient. The percentages of patients with abnormal ACS-oVEMP, BCV-oVEMP, ACS-cVEMP, and BCV-cVEMP tests were 65, 25, 45, and 25% in affected ears, and 40, 0, 15, and 0% in unaffected ears, respectively. Although ACS- and BCV-oVEMP results differed significantly, ACS- and BCV-cVEMP results did not, regardless of the affected or unaffected ears. Thus, the abnormal rates for hearing, ACS-cVEMP, BCV-oVEMP, and caloric tests in affected ears were 65, 45, 25, and 20%, respectively. This decreasing order of abnormal percentages in function of the cochlea, saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals mimics the declining sequence of hydrops formation in temporal bone studies. In conclusion, an inner ear test battery comprising audiometry, caloric, oVEMP, and cVEMP tests may provide further insight into the localization and prevalence of hydrops formation in Ménière’s disease.

Using BCV mode, Fz and inion may be the optimal sites for eliciting oVEMPs and cVEMPs, respectively. Thus, BCV mode can be substituted for ACS mode to elicit oVEMPs and cVEMPs in the future, especially in "mass detection." In contrast, ACS mode provides an essential clinical merit of site selectivity.

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This study presents a novel method for recording vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) in newborns, used to investigate the maturation of sacculocollic reflex at birth.Twenty full-term newborns aged 2–5 days old were enrolled in this study. During natural sleep, each newborn underwent distortion product otoacoustic emission test, and VEMP test using the head rotation method. For comparison, 20 healthy adults also underwent VEMP test using the same method. Based on adult criteria, 40 newborn ears revealed normal VEMPs in 40%, prolonged VEMPs in 35%, and absent VEMPs in 25%, indicating that great variation exists in the maturation of the sacculocollic reflex at birth. Comparison of VEMP characteristics between healthy newborns and adults revealed nonsignificant difference in the response rate and the latency of n23. However, significant differences existed in the latency of p13, interpeak p13-n23 interval and p13-n23 amplitude between newborns and adults. In conclusion, VEMPs in newborns can be easily recorded by the head rotation method. Prolonged or absent VEMPs in newborns may reflect incomplete maturity of the sacculocollic reflex pathway, especially the myelination. A further large number of newborns receiving MRI scan for other reasons may undergo VEMP test to verify this hypothesis.