Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials in the Diagnosis of Ménière's Disease

Background and Aim: The diagnosis of Ménière's disease (MD) relies mainly on clinical grounds, with the criteria of the AAO-HNS being the gold standard of the diagnostic approach. No electrophysiological testing method has yet been established as a reliable tool for the identification of MD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the applicability and the usefulness of vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in the diagnosis of MD.

Material and Methods: Twenty-three patients (7 men, 16 women) with a median age of 32.4 years (range, 24–51 years) with definite or probable MD that underwent VEMP testing from January 2007 to December 2008.

Results: Four of the patients (17.4%) had unilaterally absent curves, two patients (8.7%) had bilaterally absent curves, and 17 (74%) had unilateral reduction in curve amplitude. In eight patients (35%), prolonged latencies were recorded, and six patients (26%) had normal curves. In all cases, the side of the VEMP anomaly matched the side of the MD pathology.

Conclusion: Although VEMP testing seems to be a tempting diagnostic modality in identifying MD, both sensitivity and specificity remain quite low using this testing method. Therefore, VEMP testing can only support but not set the diagnosis of MD.