Electrophysiology in Ménière’s Disease

Abstract

Ménière's disease (MD) is a progressive inner ear disorder that affects at least 0.2% of the population in EUA. The symptoms triad of fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo was described by Prosper Ménière for more than a century and its pathophysiology is still unknown. MD has a fluctuating course and in many cases, difficult clinical management. Progressive hearing loss and intense dizzying seizures becomes more frequent as the disease progresses. All of this increases the challenges of accurate identification and has probably led to the trial of several tests for identifying MD. The tests are useful tools to assist the otolaryngologist both in diagnosis and prognosis of MD. These tests includes audiometry, otoacustic emission (OAE), electrocochleography (EcochG), vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP), cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedure (CHAMP) and video head impulse test (vHIT).

Resonancia magnética en enfermedad de Ménière

“…Por otro lado, varios estudios electrofisiológicos han intentado posicionarse como pruebas diagnósticas definitivas de EM, pero no lo han logrado, ya sea por dificultad técnica para realizarlos, baja o variada sensibilidad y por resultados inconsistentes en la literatura internacional. Pero cabe destacar que varios hallazgos son altamente sugerentes de enfer-medad de Ménière como la presencia de una baja tasa de respuesta asociado al aumento del umbral de esta misma en los VEMPs (vestibular evoked myogenic potentials), tanto oculares como cervicales, o el aumento del cuociente entre el potencial de sumación y el potencial de acción del nervio auditivo en la electrococleografía 4 .…”