Is otolithic vertigo accompanied by hearing loss caused by sacculocochlear endolymphatic hydrops?

Abstract

Conclusion: Otolithic vertigo is sometimes accompanied by hearing loss. Otolithic vertigo accompanied by hearing loss seems to be caused by sacculocochlear endolymphatic hydrops. Objectives: To clarify the lesion site and pathophysiology of otolithic vertigo (OV) accompanied by hearing loss. Methods: The clinical records of four patients (two men and two women) that had been diagnosed with OV accompanied by hearing loss according to pre-determined diagnostic criteria were reviewed. Results: The patients’ main symptoms involved a sensation of movement in the pitch plane. All of the patients had low frequency-dominant hearing loss and either exhibited decreased cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) or did not produce cVEMP. Two patients produced normal ocular VEMP (oVEMP). Caloric tests obtained normal results in all patients.

Keywords:

• Otolith organ
• saccule
• cVEMP
• cochlea
• endolymphatic hydrops
• low tone hearing loss

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (15K10764).