Objectives Endolymphatic sac decompression surgery (ESDS) is one of the surgical methods for intractable Menière’s disease (MD), and it is known as a relatively safe treatment that does not cause hearing loss. However, the effectiveness and the degree of vertigo control rate of ESDS are still controversial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of ESDS in intractable MD.
Methods We retrospectively reviewed 33 patients who underwent ESDS for intractable MD from January 2002 to March 2022. Clinical characteristics of patients, pure tone threshold, medical treatment method, and number of vertigo attacks before and after surgery were assessed. The improvement of hearing and vertigo was evaluated according to the 1995 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery criteria.
Results Of the 33 patients, the average follow-up period was 21.2 months, with immediate follow-up within 2 months (28 patients), short term between 2 and 6 months (27 patients), and long term at 12 months or later (29 patients). In the immediate hearing threshold, both air conduction and bone conduction showed slight deterioration, but there was no significant change in the long-term hearing threshold. At long-term follow-up, 12 patients (41.4%) were able to live without medication, and 18 patients (62.1%) showed improvement in their vertigo symptoms. In addition, patients who showed improvement in hearing also showed improvement in vertigo at the same time.
Conclusions ESDS in intractable MD is a relatively safe and effective treatment method for reducing vertigo attack without worsening hearing threshold.
Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) is characterized by an abnormal connection between branches of arteries and veins in the dura mater. Clinical manifestations of dAVF vary depending on their location, feeder arterial supply, amount of shunting, and most importantly, their venous drainage pattern. Acute vertigo has been rarely reported as an initial presentation of dAVF due to venous congestion in the brainstem. We report a patient who presented with acute right vestibulopathy without any brainstem signs in dAVF involving the transversesigmoid sinus. The patient showed abnormal caloric response but normal head impulse in the affected ear. Without any treatment, the patient’s symptoms gradually improved with a normalization of right canal paresis. Follow-up cerebral angiography also revealed a spontaneous regression of the shunt flow and reduction of venous drainage at the right transverse-sigmoid sinus. Based on the results of vestibular function tests and cerebral angiography, acute vertigo in our patient may be ascribed to impaired reabsorption of endolymph by focal venous congestion.
Isolated infarcts of the pons (IIP) are a rare subtype of ischemic stroke, accounting for less than 1% of all strokes. It refers to a specific type of ischemic stroke that occurs within the pons region of the brain. IIP can be associated with vertebrobasilar insufficiency in certain cases. This case report describes a 64-year-old female patient who presented with acute vertigo and spontaneous nystagmus to the lesion side, ultimately diagnosed with IIP in the posterior right side of pons. Tegmental pontine infarcts typically manifest as oblique small (lacunar) infarctions that are localized in the mediolateral tegmental area of the middle to upper pons. The patient’s symptoms resolved spontaneously, but a 2-mm infarct was confirmed by brain diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. This case highlights the distinctive symptoms associated with IIP and emphasizes the importance of careful neurological examination and advanced neuroimaging techniques for accurate diagnosis.
Superficial siderosis (SS) is a rare neurodegenerative condition characterized by hemosiderin deposition in the central nervous system, which sometimes leads to sensorineural hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. This case report details the diagnosis and treatment of a 63-year-old female patient presenting with a yearlong history of postural instability and recent symptoms of sudden right-sided hearing loss and imbalance. Physical examination and imaging revealed bilateral deafness and infratentorial SS. Treatment, including medication, vestibular exercises, high-dose steroids, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, led to a significant alleviation of dizziness but no improvement in hearing. This case emphasizes the need for clinicians to consider SS in patients presenting with sudden-onset hearing loss and dizziness, even without prior any medical history or trauma, to accurately identify the underlying cause.
Distinguishing central and peripheral causes of dizziness is vital. A case is presented where a 42-year-old man with a history of posterior circulation ischemic stroke developed acute unilateral vestibulopathy with hearing loss. Clinical examination revealed signs of vestibular dysfunction on the left side. Audiometry confirmed deafness on the left, but imaging ruled out new central issues. The patient was diagnosed with audiovestibulopathy and treated with steroids, antiviral agents, intratympanic injections, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hearing loss persisted, but dizziness improved with vestibular rehabilitation. Poststroke patients should be closely monitored for peripheral complications. Further research should explore the benefits of antiplatelet therapy in vascular-related conditions, even without clear central lesions.
During the treatment process for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) using the canalith repositioning procedure, the otolith can inadvertently enter the semicircular canal instead of the utricle. Canal conversion refers to the situation where the otolith enters a different semicircular canal, while reentry occurs when the otolith returns to the same semicircular canal. The occurrence of a canal conversion can complicate the accurate diagnosis and treatment of BPPV, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and unsuccessful results in the canalith repositioning procedure. In this review, we aim to summarize the incidence, clinical features, and associated risk factors of canal conversion and reentries.
Objectives This study was performed to evaluate characteristics and their prognostic value of video-head impulse test (vHIT) in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) with vertigo.
Methods Of the 612 patients with a diagnosis of SSNHL from 2010 to 2018, 110 patients (18.0%) with vertigo and 39 patients (6.4%) with vHIT results were recruited. The patients were evaluated for their pure-tone hearing average (at initial, 1-month, and 6-month visit), the presence of re-fixation saccade and gains at vHIT, the canal paresis (CP) at ccaloric test.
Results Patients with saccade (+) showed higher pure-tone averages than those with saccade (‒) on initial and follow-up audiograms. The improvement in pure-tone averages was less in the saccade (+) group than in the saccade (‒) group. There was no significant difference of hearing recovery between SSNHL patients with normal gain and those with decreased gain. There was no difference of hearing improvement between CP (+) and CP (‒) groups according to the presence of re-fixation saccade.
Conclusions Concurrent re-fixation saccade at vHIT is a negative prognostic factor of hearing function in SSNHL. Re-fixation saccade in SSNHL may suggest widespread damages to both the cochlea and the vestibule, leading to the poor prognosis.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of positional vertigo and nystagmus. Direction-changing positional nystagmus (DCPN), which refers to the change in the direction of nystagmus with different head positions, is a well-known characteristic of horizontal semicircular canal BPPV. The supine head roll test is commonly used to diagnose horizontal canal BPPV. However, persistent geotropic DCPN observed during this test cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms of canalolithiasis or cupulolithiasis. The concept of a “light cupula” has been proposed to account for this unique nystagmus. In this review, we summarize the historical background, clinical features and diagnostic methods, presumed mechanisms, and treatment approaches of the light cupula phenomenon based on the available literatures up to date.
Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) which showed torsional nystagmus on bilateral Dix-Hallpike test, and to analyze the clinical features of pseudo-bilateral BPPV.
Methods This study is a retrospective chart review of a total of 341 patients diagnosed with BPPV of posterior canal (PC-BPPV). Among them, patients who showed torsional nystagmus on bilateral Dix-Hallpike test were defined as “bilateral DixHallpike positive patients,” who were classified into true- and pseudo-bilateral PC-BPPV group through analysis of nystagmus direction. And pseudo-bilateral PC-BPPV were categorized into two subtypes according to their pathomechanisms. Clinical characteristics including sex, age, underlying vestibular disorders, recurrence and the number of Epley maneuvers were analyzed. Student t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for statistical analysis.
Results Among 341 patients, 27 patients (7.9%) were “bilateral Dix-Hallpike positive patients”. They received more Epley maneuvers than the group of unilateral PC-BPPV until the resolution of nystagmus (2.3 vs. 1.4, p<0.001). Fifteen patients out of 27 were diagnosed with pseudo-bilateral PC-BPPV, who were classified into two subtypes according to their pathomechanisms. The number of Epley maneuvers was not different between true- and pseudo-bilateral PC-BPPV.
Conclusions Patients with pseudo-bilateral PC-BPPV were common among “bilateral Dix-Hallpike positive patients.” For their better treatment, understanding of possible pathophysiology, accurate Dix-Hallpike test and detailed analysis of nystagmus direction are necessary.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common etiology of benign vestibulopathy. Various treatments for BPPV have been developed, and appropriate treatments for each subtype of BPPV have been provided and used in accordance with clinical practice guidelines published by the American Academy of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 2008 and 2017. Although many therapeutic maneuvers have been reported to show high success rates in the treatment of BPPV patients, some cases are not effective even by appropriate therapeutic maneuvers. This article reviews various factors affecting the successful treatment of BPPV patients.
Objectives This study aimed to investigate clinical significance of a head-bending test in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) involving the posterior semicircular canal (PC-BPPV).
Methods We retrospectively recruited 256 patients with unilateral PC-BPPV between January 2016 and December 2021, and assessed the clinical characteristics of patients showing head-bending nystagmus (HBN).
Results Of 256 patients, 138 (53.9%) showed HBN. Most patients (n=136, 98.6%) had downbeat nystagmus with (n=38) or without (n=98) torsional component. The remaining two patients had pure upbeat and torsional nystagmus, respectively. The torsional component was directed to the contralesional side in all. Between patients with and without HBN, there were no significant differences in clinical characteristics such as age, lateralization, types of BPPV (canalolithiasis or cupulolithiasis), and success rate of repositioning maneuver.
Conclusions Head-bending test may be useful in predicting the diagnosis and lateralization of PC-BPPV.
Objectives The slippage of the video-nystagmography devices causes motion artifacts in the trajectory of the pupil and thus results in distortion in the nystagmus waveform. In this study, the moving average was proposed to reduce slippage-induced motion artifacts from the real-world data obtained in the field.
Methods The dataset consists of an infrared video of positional tests performed on eight patients with a lateral semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The trajectories of the pupil were obtained from the video with binarization, morphological operation, and elliptical fitting algorithm. The acquired data was observed and the section where the slippage occurred was labeled by an otolaryngologist. The moving average with windows of various lengths was calculated and subtracted from the original signal and evaluated to find the most adequate parameter to reduce the motion artifact.
Results The period of nystagmus in the given data was found to be ranged from 0.01 to 4 seconds. The slippages that appeared in the data can be categorized into fast and slow slippages. The length, distance, and speed of trajectories in the slippage ranges were also measured to find the characteristics of the motion artifact in video-nystagmography data. The shape of the nystagmus waveform was preserved, and the motion artifacts were reduced in both types of slippages when the length of the window in moving average was set to 1 second.
Conclusions The algorithm developed in this study is expected to minimize errors caused by slippage when developing a diagnostic algorithm that can assist clinicians.
Objectives Video head impulse test (vHIT) can evaluate function of the vestibuloocular reflex for high frequency range of head rotation. We aimed to characterize the abnormal patterns of canal dysfunction by vHIT in vestibular migraine (VM) and evaluate the relationship between the presence of canal dysfunction and symptomatic improvement.
Methods Eighty-seven patients with VM were included. Abnormality of vHIT at the initial examination was determined by the vHIT gain and the degrees of the corrective saccades at each canal and each side. The relationship between the abnormal patterns and the symptomatic improvement (no need for preventive medication) after modification of life styles and preventive medications for 1, 3, and 6 months was evaluated.
Results Abnormal vHIT of the lateral canal was 13.8% when determined by the gain criteria and 31.0% when based on both gain and corrective saccade, regardless of the side. Abnormal vHIT of the superior and posterior canals were 18.4% and 27.6%, regardless of the side. Abnormal vHIT at any canal and side was observed in 47%. Patients showed symptomatic improvement in 29.9%, 71.3%, and 88.5% after modification of life styles and preventive medications for 1, 3, and 6 months. Abnormal vHIT results of canals were significantly related to the poor response to preventive mediations.
Conclusions Prolonged preventive medication was required for symptomatic improvement in VM patients when vHIT results of any canals were abnormal, suggesting that peripheral vestibular abnormality is closely related to the pathophysiology of vestibular migraine.
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is a rare neurological manifestation of nonmetastatic malignancy. Its usual manifestation is subacute to chronic dizziness, gait ataxia, and dysarthria. There have been only a few cases of paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration with acute presentation. This study describes a patient with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, who presented acute vestibular syndrome and then episodically developed horizontal gaze-evoked nystagmus and gait ataxia.
Objectives Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of dizziness. Even though the etiology of BPPV has been widely studied, the exact mechanism remains still unclear. One of the possible factors explaining the pathophysiology of BPPV is ischemia of vestibule. In the present study, we have focused on the platelet indices including mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and platelet crit (PCT) to assess a risk of vestibule ischemia causing BPPV.
Methods From January 2021 to March 2021, a retrospective review was performed on 39 patients diagnosed with BPPV through vestibular nystagmography. For each platelet indices, a comparative analysis was conducted between the patient group and control group.
Results There were no significant differences when the platelet, MPV, PDW, and PCT values were compared between the study and control group. Rather, the control group showed higher PDW value than the study group.
Conclusions Ischemia of vestibule is one of the well-known causes of BPPV, but the current study showed that BPPV cannot be explained by the vestibule ischemia itself. Further studies are needed to identify the potential of ischemia regarding BPPV by approaching with other methods with a large study group.
Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is commonly encountered in the cerebellopontine angle and benign neoplasms that arise from Schwann cells of the eighth cranial nerve, which can show not only hearing loss but also various vestibular symptoms. Dizziness is the symptom causing significantly negative effect on quality of life in patients with VS. Here, we will review the dizziness in VS.
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Impairment of Vestibular Function in Patients with Vestibular Schwannoma According to the Presence of Dizziness Youngjeong Lee, Se A Lee, Eek-Sung Lee, Tae-Kyeong Lee, Jong Dae Lee Research in Vestibular Science.2022; 21(3): 75. CrossRef
The velocity-storage circuit comprised of bilateral vestibular nucleus complexes, commissural fiber, and nodulus and uvula functions in refining the raw vestibular signal to estimate rotational velocity, gravity direction, and inertia. In this review, we pursued the functional significance of this velocity-storage circuit and how this physiologic knowledge could help us understand the clinical symptoms and signs of patients with vestibular disorders.
Central vertigo is the common symptom resulting from abnormalities in the central nervous system, caused by various diseases, which include neurodegenerative, vascular, inflammation, infection, tumor, paraneoplastic, toxic, or metabolic disorders. Since the treatment of central vertigo depends on the causes, an accurate diagnosis should be preceded the treatment through a detailed neurotologic examination and laboratory evaluation. Also, it is important to identify and document the neurologic findings accompanied by central vertigo, because some medication focuses on the ocular motor abnormalities as nystagmus or saccadic intrusion. Here, we will review the medical treatment for central vertigo.
Objectives This study was performed to determine characteristics and the prognostic values in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) with comorbid ipsilateral canal paresis (CP) and/or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
Methods Of the 338 patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic SSNHL, 29 patients (8.6%) with CP and 24 patients (7.1%) with BPPV were recruited and compared to 23 patients with SSNHL and vertigo but without CP or BPPV. The patients were evaluated for their initial hearing threshold, type of canal involved, response to repositioning maneuvers, and hearing outcome for 6 months.
Results Patients with CP (+) BPPV (‒) showed lower pure-tone averages than those with CP (‒) BPPV (+) on initial and follow-up audiograms. The improvement in pure-tone averages was less in the CP (+) BPPV (‒) group than in the CP (‒) BPPV (+) group. The improvement in speech discrimination scores was less in the CP (+) BPPV (‒) group than in the CP (‒) BPPV (‒) group. BPPV most commonly involved the posterior canal (15 of 24, 62.5%), followed by the horizontal canal (13 of 24, 54.2%). Three of 24 patients (12.5%) had recurrences of BPPV.
Conclusions CP is a more serious sign for hearing recovery than BPPV, although both CP and BPPV are negative prognostic indicators of auditory function in SSNHL. Concurrent CP and/or BPPV in SSNHL suggest combined damage to the vestibule and may indicate severe and widespread labyrinthine damage, leading to a poor prognosis.
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Re-fixation Saccade at Video-Head Impulse Test in Patients with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Dong Hyuk Jang, Sun Seong Kang, Hyun Joon Shim, Yong-Hwi An Research in Vestibular Science.2023; 22(2): 46. CrossRef
Objectives Pathophysiology of vestibular migraine (VM) is still controversial. Vertigo may act as a trigger for migraine or there might other mechanisms which cause migraine and dizziness. VM patients have headaches and dizziness simultaneously or sequentially. Therefore, we hypothesized that the sequence of symptoms might suggest different mechanisms and compared the results of vestibular function tests (VFTs) according to chronological order of headache and vertigo.
Methods Forty-two patients with VM were included. They were divided into three subgroups according to the chronological orders of headache and vertigo, and the results of VFTs and the symptomatic improvement were compared between each group.
Results Dizziness appeared first in 15 patients (35.7%), both symptoms appeared simultaneously in 20 patients (47.6%), and headaches appeared first in 7 (16.7%). There were no significant differences in symptom duration among the groups. Fourteen (33.3%) showed abnormal caloric results, 7 (16.7%) in head impulse test, 16 (38.1%, vestibular score) and 19 (45.2%, composite score) in sensory organizing test, and 13 (31.0%) in vestibular evoked myogenic potential test. Abnormal rate of the caloric test in the simultaneous group was significantly lower than those of the other two groups. Nineteen (45.2%) showed complete remission in 3 months after preventive medication with no significant difference between each group.
Conclusions VM patients whose vertigo occurred with headache simultaneously showed lower incidence of caloric abnormality, suggesting that they have abnormality in central vestibular system rather than peripheral vestibular organs.
The upward deviation could be explained by loss of inhibitory inputs from the cerebellum onto the brainstem anterior semicircular canal projections for upward vestibulo-ocular reflex, which would lead to an upward bias in static eye position. Therefore, upward gaze deviation has been reported in comatose patients after resuscitation and diffuse cerebrocerebellar damage sparing the brainstem. Herein, we report a patient with ingestion of glufosinate ammonium presented with cerebellar ataxia and ocular motor findings suggestive of cerebellum involvement such as upward gaze tendency, spontaneous downbeat, gaze-evoked nystagmus, perverted head impulse test, and impaired smooth pursuit.
Developmental venous anomalies (DVAs), previously known as central nervous system venous angioma, are the commonly encountered benign vascular malformations. Unlike cerebellar DVAs, isolated brainstem DVAs is a rare condition, and there have been limited case reports of symptomatic and uncomplicated DVAs of the brainstem described in the literature. We present the exceptional case of spontaneous vertigo accompanied by moderate temporal headache associated with pontine DVAs. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first documented cases of DVAs as a possible cause of spontaneous recurrent vertigo.
Objectives This study was performed to assess the efficacy and feasibility of mobile application-based Frenzel tests in dizziness clinics.
Methods We performed an investigator-initiated, blinded-outcome assessor, parallel, randomized controlled crossover trial at Chungnam National University Hospital between August 2019 and October 2019. Certified medical staffs were randomly assigned to the intervention group (i.e., a mobile application-based Frenzel glass system, n=15) or the observation group (i.e., a conventional desktop-based Frenzel glass system, n=15); the groups applied the respective systems for the preparation of eye movement recording and switched systems. The primary outcome was the elapsed time in seconds it took the participants to prepare the system for eye recording simulation. The secondary outcomes were perceived stress and satisfaction scores after completion of the operation, as measured by a questionnaire using 10-point Likert scales.
Results The mean time of machine preparation for eye recording simulation was reduced by 50% in the mobile application group compared to the desktop group in both study periods (38.0±7.1 sec vs. 76.0±8.7 sec). We detected no carryover effect. Participants also reported lower stress while using application than while using the desktop system (2.3±1.3 vs. 4.6±2.4; p<0.001). The application obtained a mean overall satisfaction score of 9.2 out of 10.
Conclusions The implementation of an eye movement recording application in a dizziness examination was well adopted by users and decreased the time and stress related to machine operation.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of recurrent vertigo that is characterized by sudden onset of vertigo elicited by positional change. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) and American Academy of Neurology provided clinical practice guideline for BPPV in 2008. Since then, Bárány Society has published BPPV diagnostic criteria in 2015, and AAO-HNS has revised BPPV clinical practice guideline in 2017 to publish update version. This article reviewed recent diagnostic criteria for BPPV included in the International Classification of Vestibular Disorders of Bárány Society and updated practice guideline in the BPPV diagnosis presented by AAO-HNS.
Objectives The influence of specific meteorological conditions, such as solar radiation quantity, duration of sunshine, and their covariation on the incidence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) has been rarely investigated. Aiming at better predictions of the monthly variation of BPPV, we investigated variations in the monthly incidence of BPPV patients and meteorological parameters.
Methods A total of 2,111 patients who had been diagnosed with BPPV at one institution were analyzed retrospectively. Monthly counts of BPPV patients were analyzed for incidence distributions throughout the 5 years. The relationship between intra-annual distribution of BPPV and meteorological parameters was compared by the time series analysis.
Results The lowest monthly incidence of BPPV patients was found in September and the highest monthly incidence was found in December. Statistically, as a result of the time series analysis, a periodic fluctuation of both quantity of solar radiation (p=0.004) and percentage of sunshine duration (p=0.002) was identified, but a periodic fluctuation of both number of BPPV patients (p=0.316) and sunshine duration (p=0.057) was not identified.
Conclusions Unlike previous studies, the results of time series analysis did not confirm that there is a periodic fluctuation in the incidence of BPPV patients. The incidence of BPPV may be more affected by other factors than by meteorological parameters.
Objectives Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a common cause of vertigo in the elderly, shares common pathogenic mechanisms with osteoporosis. We investigated the efficacy and safety of intravenous zoledronic acid in elderly patients with BPPV and osteoporosis.
Methods We performed a 3-year observational study with elderly patients who were diagnosed with BPPV and osteoporosis. The recurrence of BPPV and changes in bone mineral densitometry (BMD) scores were evaluated one year after the administration of intravenous zoledronic acid.
Results We enrolled 101 elderly patients with BPPV and 54 of them (53.5%) met the diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis. Intravenous zoledronic acid was administered in 51 patients. The recurrence of BPPV was observed in only two of 49 patients (4.1%) at 1 year’s follow-up. The mean lowest T-score of BMD improved from –3.23±0.51 to –3.05±0.58 (p=0.001).
Conclusions Our study showed that the treatment of osteoporosis can be considered to prevent the recurrence of BPPV in the elderly. Further placebo-controlled studies are needed to estimate accurately the efficacy of zoledronic acid in the prevention of recurrence of BPPV in the elderly.
Objectives Light cupula is characterized by persistent geotropic direction-changing positional nystagmus in a supine head-roll test. The purpose of this study is to investigate if hearing level is influenced by the change of head position in light cupula under the assumption that relative density difference similarly occurs between the tectorial membrane and endolymph.
Methods Twelve patients with unilateral light cupula who underwent positional audiometry were included in this study. Pure tone thresholds were compared among three head positions.
Results Hearing threshold in pure tone audiometry (PTA) of the affected ear was not different from that of the healthy ear. PTA thresholds of the affected side were not significantly different in three head positions; upright seating, cochlear apex-up, and cochlear apex-down positions.
Conclusions Although positional change of nystagmus direction is the most significant clinical feature of light cupula, positional change of hearing level was not observed in those patients. The lack of positional influence on hearing may be explained as follows: (1) the heavier endolymph phenomenon occurs only in the vestibular end organ without involving the cochlea; (2) the light cupula phenomenon is more likely to occur due to light debris mechanism rather than heavier endolymph or lighter cupula mechanism; and (3) the effects of light cupula could be modified by outer hair cells, which work for tuning in the cochlea, even though light tectorial membrane or heavy endolymph occurs.
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Light cupula phenomenon: a systematic review Nilüfer Bal, Melike Altun, Elif Kuru, Meliha Basoz Behmen, Ozge Gedik Toker The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Relapsing polychondritis is a rare multisystemic autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology and characterized by recurrent episodes of inflammation affecting the cartilaginous tissues. Otologic manifestation such as auricular chondritis is one of the most frequent presenting symptoms in relapsing polychondritis, and inner ear symptoms, such as hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo, may develop in 7% to 42% of the patients. In this study, we present a 42-year-old male patient with relapsing polychondritis, who experienced two separate episodes of acute vestibular syndrome at the interval of 6 years. At the first vertigo attack, the patient showed left-beating spontaneous nystagmus with sudden hearing loss on the right side, and a bithermal caloric test revealed canal paresis on the right side. At the second vertigo attack, he showed right-beating spontaneous nystagmus, and a bithermal caloric test, compared to that during the first vertigo attack, revealed additional decrease in caloric response on the left side.
Objectives Idiopathic unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) with simultaneous benign paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) is known to be associated with poor hearing recovery. We aimed to investigate clinical findings in patients with SSNHL with BPPV and analyze prognostic factors including presence of BPPV related to hearing outcome.
Methods We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical data of 14 patients with concurrent SSNHL and BPPV (combined group). We selected 52 patients without BPPV as a control group who have matched initial threshold of pure tone audiometry and age of each patient in the combined group. We evaluated clinical characteristics of all participants and compared hearing outcomes between the 2 groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors related to hearing recovery.
Results Initial mean pure tone audiometry (PTA) threshold of combined group was 90.36±26.2 dB. Posterior canal was most commonly involved (n=7, 50%), and 8 (57%) patients showed abnormal video head impulse test results. There was no significant difference between hearing recovery rates of combined and control group (p=0.237) and mean pure tone audiometry threshold changes were not significantly different between the 2 groups (p=0.942). Old age (≥60 years), high initial PTA threshold (>90 dB), and obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) were poor prognostic predictors.
Conclusions There was no difference between hearing outcomes of combined group and profound SSNHL only group. BPPV was not a significant prognostic factor of SSNHL patients.
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Which Is More Important for the Prognosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss with Vertigo, Canal Paresis or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo? Yong-Hwi An, Hyun Joon Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2021; 20(3): 101. CrossRef
Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible alteration of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in patients with horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (h-BPPV) using the video head impulse test (vHIT).
Methods This was a prospective case-control study of BPPV patients. We includeed 133 patients with h-BPPV who underwent the vHIT prior to the positioning test. The control group consisted of 76 normal subjects who also underwent the vHIT. The vHIT parameters of gain and asymmetry were assessed, and clinical parameters such as treatment duration, number of canalith reposition maneuvers executed and recurrence rates were evaluated. The VOR and clinical parameters were compared between the h-BPPV and control group. The VOR parameters of h-BPPV canalolithiasis were also compared with those of cupulolithiasis.
Results The mean age of the patients was 56.5 years and the male to female ratio was 1:2.02. Of the patients, 75 were diagnosed as having the canalolithiasis type of h-BPPV, while the other 58 had the cupulolithiasis type. The mean vHIT gains of the ipsi-lesional horizontal canal plane were 1.13 and 1.15 in the h-BPPV and control group, respectively (p=0.564). However, the asymmetry of the VOR was significantly higher in the h-BPPV than the control group (p=0.013), while the gains and asymmetries of the vHIT in the canalolith and cupulolith types were not significantly different (p=0.454, p=0.826).
Conclusions The asymmetry of VOR is significantly elevated in the cupulolith type of hBPPV.
Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic functional vestibular disorder that manifests with 3 or more months of dizziness, nonspinning vertigo, and unsteadiness. These main symptoms are exacerbated by upright posture, active or passive self-motion, and exposure to visual stimuli. PPPD is usually precipitated by illnesses that cause vertigo, dizziness, or unsteadiness. The common precipitants are acute or episodic peripheral vestibular diseases including vestibular neuritis, Meniere disease, or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. PPPD is not a diagnosis of exclusion. An abnormal finding on examination or laboratory testing does not necessarily exclude a diagnosis of PPPD. This article reviewed the Bárány Society’s diagnostic criteria for PPPD in detail and discussed directions of future investigations.
We summarized recent diagnostic criteria for hemodynamic orthostatic dizziness/vertigo included in the International Classification of Vestibular Disorders (ICVD) in this paper. The aim of defining diagnostic criteria of hemodynamic orthostatic dizziness/vertigo is to help clinicians to understand the terminology related to orthostatic dizziness/vertigo and to distinguish orthostatic dizziness/vertigo due to global brain hypoperfusion from that caused by other etiologies. Detailed history taking and measurements of orthostatic blood pressure and heart rate are important for the screening and documentation of orthostatic hypotension or postural tachycardia syndrome to establish the diagnosis of hemodynamic orthostatic dizziness/vertigo.
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Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Stenosis Presenting as Recurrent Orthostatic Dizziness Seongjin Jeon, Ji-Yun Park, Jong-min Lee, Seulgi Hong Research in Vestibular Science.2022; 21(2): 53. CrossRef
Objectives The nystagmus evoked by an angular velocity step is influenced by the cupula dynamics and the status of velocity storage mechanisms. This study questioned whether the cupulolithiasis of horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HC-BPPV) affects the time constant or gain of the velocity step test.
Methods We performed a retrospective study of 30 patients who diagnosed with HC-BPPV and performed rotary chair test at Dankook University Hospital from June 2010 to May 2017. All patients had normal vestibular function on the sinusoidal harmonic acceleration test. According to the direction of nystagmus on the head roll test, we further divided the patients into “geotrophic” (canalolithiasis) and “apogeotrophic” (cupulolithiasis) groups. We compared the time constant (Tc), gain, and directional preponderance (DP) between the 2 groups. We also compared the time constant and gain between lesion side of BPPV and normal side in each group.
Results In the supine head roll, geotrophic nystagmus observed in 14 patients and apogeotrophic nystagmus observed in 16 patients. When parameters of the velocity step test compared according to lesion side of BPPV (per-rotary of lesion side, postrotary of lesion side, per-rotary of normal side, and postrotary of normal side), there were no significant differences in Tc, gain, and DP between the 2 groups. There were also no significant differences in Tc and gain between lesion side and normal side in each group.
Conclusions We assumed that cupulolithiasis of HC-BPPV could affect the cupular deflection evoked by an angular velocity step, but there were no significant differences in Tc and gain between patients with cupulolithiasis and canalolithiasis.
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Influence of Otoliths on the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex in Horizontal Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Hee Soo Yoon, Jae Yeong Jeong, Jae Ho Chung, Ha Young Byun, Chul Won Park, Seung Hwan Lee Research in Vestibular Science.2020; 19(2): 49. CrossRef
Objectives Sudden sensorineural hearing loss and Meniere disease can be managed with intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) as a primary treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of ITSI versus oral diuretics for acute low frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFHL) with vertigo.
Methods A total 76 patients with LFHL that had developed within previous 2 weeks were enrolled and categorized into 2 groups: treated with ITSI four times on 4 consecutive days (ITSI group; 42 patients) and treated with diuretics orally for 2 weeks (diuretics group; 34 patients). After 6 months, we analyzed treatment outcomes using subjective improvement and audiometric change.
Results Hearing thresholds at low frequencies ≤500 Hz were significantly improved in both ITSI and diuretics group (p<0.05). The cure rate of ITSI group was not significantly higher than that of diuretics group (54.8% vs. 52.9%, p>0.05). For subjective symptoms, there were no significant differences of improvement rate in both groups (ITSI 64.3% vs. diuretics 61.8%, p>0.05). In pure tone audiometry, the improvement rate of ITSI group was not significantly different from that of diuretics group (78.6% vs. 70.6%, p>0.05). There was a significant correlation between the cure rate and duration of symptoms.
Conclusions Both ITSI and diuretics are effective treatment modalities for acute LFHL with vertigo within 2 weeks of development. There is no difference of treatment outcomes between ITSI and diuretics in patients with acute LFHL and vertigo.
Arnold-Chiari malformation type 1 is a congenital disease characterized by herniation of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum. Most common clinical symptom is pain, including occipital headache and neck pain, upper limb pain exacerbated by physical activity or valsalva maneuvers. Various otoneurological manifestations also occur in patients with the disease, which has usually associated with dizziness, vomiting, dysphagia, poor hand coordination, unsteady gait, numbness. Patients with Arnold-Chiari malformation may develop vertigo after spending some time with their head inclined on their trunk. Positional and down-beating nystagmus are common forms of nystagmus in them. We experienced a 12-year-old female who presented complaining of vertigo related to changes in head position which was initially misdiagnosed as a benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.
A 57-year-old woman presented with sudden onset of whirling vertigo associated with nausea and vomiting. The neurological examination showed left-beating horizontal nystagmus on the lying-down test and right-beating horizontal nystagmus on the head bending test. Geotropic direction-changing horizontal nystagmus was demonstrated on both sides during the supine roll test. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) was the most common vestibular disorder in patients after head trauma. The authors experienced a case of right horizontal canal BPPV occurred after a yoga practice, thereby we report the case with a review of the related literatures.
Vertigo, dizziness, and disequilibrium are common symptoms following concussion or traumatic brain injury. Dizziness and vertigo may be the result of trauma to the peripheral vestibular system or the central nervous system, or, in some cases, may be due to anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder; these mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. While most peripheral vestibular disorders can be identified by testing and examination, those without inner ear causes that have persisting complaints of dizziness and motion sickness are more difficult to understand and to manage. Some of these patients exhibit features compatible with vestibular migraine and may be treated successfully with migraine preventative medications. This paper reviews the neurological causes of persisting dizziness, the possible mechanisms, and the pathophysiology, as a framework for patient management and for future research.
Many of the dizziness patients annually visit ENT (ear, nose, throat) clinics because the vestibular function is the major organ to keep body balance and belongs to the Otorhinolaryngology. Nevertheless, many otolaryngologists feel that it is not easy to access the dizziness patients. The reason is that dizziness is not a final diagnosis and it is necessary to start the diagnosis of dizziness and find out the cause. Also, the causes of dizziness belong to multiple medical departments. That is why we need to pay more attention. Among them, traumatic vertigo can be manifested in various ways depending on the injury site and mechanism, and it is often difficult to predict the medical prognosis. Therefore, this review article focuses on traumatic vertigo. In this paper, we discussed its epidemiology and mechanism to help clinicians to treat patients with traumatic vertigo.
Posttraumatic vertigo can be defined as the vertiginous disorder occurred after head and neck trauma without other pre-existing vestibular disorder. Central, peripheral, and combined deficits might cause this condition. Especially, various peripheral vestibulopathies are possible causes of posttraumatic vertigo; benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, temporal bone fracture, perilymphatic fistula, labyrinthine concussion, posttraumatic hydrops, and cervical vertigo. Since the differential diagnosis of the posttraumatic vertigo is often difficult, it is essential to acquire knowledge of their pathophysiology and clinical features. In this review, peripheral vestibulopathy as the possible causes of posttraumatic vertigo were described according to the current literature.
Objectives Vertigo combined with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is known as a poor prognostic factor. We investigated clinical findings and vestibular function tests in patients of SSNHL with vertigo to find the prognostic factors.
Methods We retrospectively evaluated data on the patients diagnosed with SSNHL with vertigo at Bucheon Soonchunhyang University Hospital from March 2009 to February 2018. We reviewed medical records and the results of vestibular function tests and audiometry.
Results Of the 68 patients, 30 (44.1%) showed profound hearing loss and 53 (77.9%) showed poor recovery. Age and the degree of initial hearing loss showed negative prognostic factor in hearing recovery. Abnormal results of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) also showed significantly differences between good and poor recovery groups.
Conclusions In this study, most of the patients of SSNHL with vertigo showed poor recovery. Age, degree of initial hearing loss, and the abnormal result of the cVEMP have a negative effect on the prognosis of hearing recovery.
Both cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) are irreplaceable tools in the current vestibular science, but they have many drawbacks. For example, the test-retest reliability of the asymmetry ratio is inadequate for both tests. The American Academy of Neurology noted that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether cVEMP and oVEMP can accurately identify vestibular function specifically related to the saccule/utricle. One of the most important factors underlying the variability of cVEMP seems to be the control of, and compensation for, baseline muscle contraction power.
Reasons for variability in oVEMP include a poor signal to noise ratio, the angle of superior gaze, effective and controlled presentation of stimuli, intracranial pressure, and electrode location. Many of these shortcomings could be improved by further development of recording methods and devices. This article examines the reasons for the insufficient reliability of VEMP and proposes avenues for improvement of VEMP recording systems.
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Difference of Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials between Bone-Conduction and Air-Conduction in Patients with Nonspecific Dizziness Yong-Hwi An, Jung Ho Choi, Seung Yeon Jeon, Hyun Joon Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2022; 21(4): 93. CrossRef
A Case of Patient with Acute Peripheral Vestibulopathy Involving Isolated Posterior Semicircular Canal Sang Kwon Im, Mee Hyun Song, Ja Won Gu, Dae Bo Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2019; 18(4): 128. CrossRef
Objectives Patients, who showed persistent geotropic-direction changing positional nystagmus (p-DCPN) tend to have different clinical manifestations from those who showed transient geotropic DCPN (t-DCPN). We investigated the clinical characteristics between p-DCPN and t-DCPN patients, and its recovery rate after canalith repositioning procedure (CRP).
Methods Based on the duration of nystagmus, 117 geotropic DCPN patients were classified to 2 groups, p-DCPN and t-DCPN. Barbeque maneuver had been introduced towards the opposite direction of null plane for the p-DCPN patients, and to the opposite direction of stronger nystagmus for the t-DCPN patients.
Results Seventy-four patients showed t-DCPN and 43 patients were classified to the p-DCPN cases. No p-DCPN patient showed prompt improvement after the 1st canalolith reposition therapy. Among the t-DCPN patients, 18 canal switch cases were found , but, there was no canal switch cases found among the p-DCPN The CRP has showed less effective for the p-DCPN patients than the t-DCPN patients (after the 1st CRP, 37 in 74 improved, p<0.001).
Conclusions Due to its distinguishing clinical manifestation, p-DCPN may have different pathogenesis and clinical mechanisms from t-DCPN. And for the p-DCPN patients, the CRP seems not an efficient treatment compared to the t-DCPN patients. Further study with larger number of enrolled subjects is necessary.
Superficial siderosis (SS) of the central nervous system is a rare disease, which is caused by the accumulation of iron from the hemoglobin in the superficial layer of the brain, spinal cord, and central parts of cranial nerves. The etiology of SS is the accumulation of hemosiderin in the subarachnoid space due to chronic or repeated hemorrhage resulting in progressive and irreversible neurological dysfunction. The cause of the disease is aneurysm, trauma, tumor, and vascular malformation. In most cases, the cause of bleeding is unknown. Clinical features include sensorineural hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, and myelopathy. Until now, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has only been diagnosed and there is no standardized treatment. We will investigate clinical features and MRI findings of SS disease in the central nervous system using 2 patient cases.
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A Case of Patient with Bilateral Cochleovestibular Function Loss due to Infratentorial Superficial Siderosis Gyuman Lee, Youngmin Mun, Dae Bo Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2023; 22(3): 83. CrossRef
This case report describes a patient who developed positional vertigo after surgery for chronic otitis media on the right side. Canal wall up mastoidectomy was performed, and the stapes was moderately mobilized during removal of the inflammatory granulation tissues that were attached to it. Immediately after the surgery, positional vertigo developed. The patient showed weakly left-beating spontaneous nystagmus in a seated position. Examination of positional nystagmus revealed geotropic direction-changing positional nystagmus with a prolonged duration and weak intensity in a supine head-roll test, which may be caused by a change in inner ear fluids due to a disruption of inner ear membrane around the oval window or penetration of toxic materials into the labyrinth during surgery.
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Light cupula phenomenon: a systematic review Nilüfer Bal, Melike Altun, Elif Kuru, Meliha Basoz Behmen, Ozge Gedik Toker The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Direction-Changing Positional Nystagmus in Acute Otitis Media Complicated by Serous Labyrinthitis: New Insights into Positional Nystagmus Jin Woo Choi, Kyujin Han, Hyunjoo Nahm, Jung Eun Shin, Chang-Hee Kim Otology & Neurotology.2019; 40(4): e393. CrossRef
Dialysis disequilibrium syndrome revisited: Feeling “Disequilibrated” due to inner ear dyshomeostasis? Chang-Hee Kim, Jung Eun Shin, Jung Hwan Park Medical Hypotheses.2019; 129: 109262. CrossRef
Objectives We aimed to assess the clinical significance of spontaneous nystagmus (SN) in horizontal semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HC-BPPV).
Methods Twenty-four patients who were diagnosed with HC-BPPV in Eulji University Hospital from January 2015 to December 2016 were recruited. Various bed-side examinations including SN in both sitting and supine position, head roll test, and bithermal caloric test were evaluated. The number of canalith repositioning maneuvers were counted in all patients.
Results SN was observed in 18.2% of geotropic HC-BPPV and 38.5% of apogeotropic HC-BPPV, respectively. There was no significant difference between presence of SN and the direction of initial nystagmus (p=0.386, 2-tailed Fisher exact test). The mean number of otolith repositioning maneuvers in patients with SN was 3.29±1.799 and this was significantly higher than in patients without SN (1.76±0.831) (p=0.009). Although the mean number of repositioning maneuver in patients in apogeotropic HC-BPPV and SN (3.80±1.924) tended to be higher than those who were diagnosed with apogeotropic HC-BPPV without SN (1.88±1.991) (p=0.035), the post hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction revealed that it was not significant because it was higher than the adjusted p-value (p=0.017). The initial direction of nystagmus was changed into the opposite direction in 29.17% of patient. However, this change was not different according to presence of SN (p=0.374, 2-tailed Fisher exact test).
Conclusions The presence of SN in HC-BPPV may be associated with lower treatment response. In particular, cautions are needed in patients with apogeotropic HC-BPPV.
It is known that about 30% of patients with sudden hearing loss present with vertigo or dizziness. In clinical practice, this is called sudden hearing loss with vertigo (SHLV) although definite diagnostic criteria have not been established. Dizziness in SHLV is known to be caused by the dysfunction of the vestibular end-organs as well as the superior vestibular nerve or both vestibular nerve divisions. Lesions of the inferior vestibular nerve or a single semicircular canal have also been reported in these patients. Herein we report a 71-year-old male patient with SHLV who demonstrated vestibular dysfunction involving only the posterior semicircular canal. The patient showed normal results in the bithermal caloric test and the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials test as well as positional test. Video head impulse test showed decreased gain only in the posterior semicircular canal. This case is significant in showing that dizziness in SHLV patients can occur by an abnormality involving only a single semicircular canal.
Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical manifestations and significance of pseudo-spontaneous nystagmus (PSN) and head-shaking nystagmus (HSN) in horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HC-BPPV). Methods: Two hundred fifty-two patients diagnosed as HC-BPPV were reviewed retrospectively. After excluding 55 patients with ipsilateral vestibular diseases, multiple canal BPPV, or those who were lost to follow-up, we analyzed the direction of PSN and HSN in patients with HC-BPPV. We also compared the clinical characteristics and treatment outcome between PSN-positive and PSN-negative groups. Results: Our study included 197 patients composed of 80 patients with geotropic HC-BPPV and 117 patients with apogeotropic HC-BPPV. PSN was observed in 13.7% patients and HSN was observed in 45.2%. The incidence of HSN was higher in apogeotropic HC-BPPV, while the proportion of PSN was not statistically significant between the two subtypes. There was no directional preponderance in geotropic HC-BPPV, while ipsilesional PSN and contralesional HSN showed higher incidence in apogeotropic HC-BPPV. The dizziness handicap inventory score in the PSN-positive group was higher than that in the PSN-negative group (p<0.001), and the duration of symptom onset in the PSN-positive group was shorter than that in the PSN-negative group (p=0.047). However, there was no significant difference in the treatment outcome between the two groups. Conclusions: The incidence of HSN was higher than that of PSN in patients with apogeotropic HC-BPPV. Patients with HC-BPPV showing PSN demonstrated more severe initial symptoms and visited the hospital in a shorter period of time after the onset of symptoms.
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Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Diagnostic Criteria and Updated Practice Guideline in Diagnosis Dae Bo Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2020; 19(4): 111. CrossRef
Objectives Vertigo is considered a poor prognostic factor in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause of vertigo and may accompany SSNHL. However, whether BPPV is a poor prognostic factor remains controversial. We identified features of prognostic utility in patients with both SSNHL and BPPV. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data on all patients diagnosed with SSNHL at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center between January 2011 and December 2015. We reviewed medical records, the results of vestibular function testing, and audiographic data. Results: Of the 524 idiopathic SSNHL patients, 20 (3.8%) were also diagnosed with unilateral BPPV. The average pure tone average (PTA) of those with both SSNHL and BPPV was higher than that of those without BPPV. Of the 471 patients with SSNHL only, 143 (30%) exhibited complete recovery. Of the 33 SSNHL patients with vertigo, 3 (9%) exhibited complete recovery, but only 3 (15%) of those with both SSNHL and BPPV exhibited complete recovery. Of the 20 patients with both SSNHL and BPPV, 15 had ipsilateral BPPV and 5 contralateral BPPV. Conclusions: Patients with BPPV had a higher average initial PTA score and poorer hearing recovery after treatment, than patients with SSNHL alone. Patients with contralateral BPPV had a somewhat better prognosis than those with ipsilateral BPPV, but statistical significance was not attained.
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Which Is More Important for the Prognosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss with Vertigo, Canal Paresis or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo? Yong-Hwi An, Hyun Joon Shim Research in Vestibular Science.2021; 20(3): 101. CrossRef
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common peripheral vestibular disorder. It is easily cured with canal repositioning maneuvers, but some patients are resistant to the repositioning maneuver and require surgical intervention. Labyrinthitis ossificans is the pathologic condition that fibrous tissue and new bone occupy the membranous labyrinthine space. It occurs as a sequela of inner ear inflammation resulting from diverse causes, mostly bacterial meningitis and otitis media. We describe here a 42-year-old female patient with refractory posterior semicircular canal (PSCC) BPPV and adhesive otitis media in same ear. Otoscopic examination revealed adhesive tympanic membrane without middle ear space and temporal bone computed tomography showed complete ossification of the labyrinth at the same side. We performed a canal wall down mastoidectomy and PSCC occlusion. The patient had complete resolution of paroxysmal vertigo and positional nystagmus, postoperatively.
Objectives Intratympanic dexamethasone (ITD) is a standard treatment for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ITD vs. combination of ITD and diuretics for acute low frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFHL) with vertigo. Methods: A total 31 patients with LFHL that had developed within previous 2 weeks were enrolled and categorized into two groups: treated with ITD four times on 4 consecutive days (ITD group; 17 patients) and treated with ITD in the same way and diuretics orally for 2 weeks (combination group; 14 patients). After 6 months, we analyzed treatment outcomes using subjective improvement and audiometric change. Results: Hearing thresholds at low frequencies ≤500 Hz were significantly improved in both ITD only and combination group (p<0.05). The cure rate of combination group was not significantly higher than that of ITD only group (57.1% vs. 52.9%, p>0.05). For subjective symptoms, there were no significant differences of improvement rate in both groups (combination 64.3% vs. ITD only 64.7%, p>0.05). In pure tone audiometry, the improvement rate of combination group was not significantly different from that of ITD only group (71.4% vs. 76.5%, p>0.05). There was a significant correlation between the complete recovery rate and duration of symptoms. Conclusion: ITD alone is an effective treatment modality for acute LFHL with vertigo within 2 weeks of development. Combined ITD and diuretics have no additive effect for the recovery of hearing in patients with LFHL.