The Caloric Response in Menibre's Disease During Spontaneous and Glycerin-Induced Changes of the Hearing Loss

Abstract

In patients with Menière's disease the caloric response from the diseased labyrinth may vary during the course of the disease. Fluctuations in caloric response and fluctuations in hearing may occur independently. After the consumption of glycerin by patients with Menière's disease, the caloric response from the diseased ear may be reduced, reinforced or unaffected. Variations in caloric response and hearing have been compared; no distinct individual pattern has been noted. Possible reasons for the lack of agreement in the reaction pattern in the acoustic and non-acoustic labyrinth, both during the course of the disease and after glycerin consumption, are discussed. After glycerin consumption, the caloric response was reduced on one side in one out of seven normal subjects, while the hearing remained unaffected. Glycerin may provoke direction-changing positional nystagmus in normal subjects as well as in patients with Menière's disease.