The Use of Electrocoehleography in the Diagnosis of Meniere's Disease

Abstract

The use of transtympanic electrocoehleography (ECochG) is discussed in the diagnosis of endolymphatic hydrops. The electrophysiological concepts which may explain the finding of an increased negative summating potential (SP) in human recordings are discussed. The click SP/AP ratio and the absolute values of the 1 kHz 90 dB NHL tone burst were obtained in 42 normal ears, 48 sensory ears and 80 Meniere's ears and compared. It was found that the use of a 1 kHz tone burst increased the accuracy of diagnosis especially in ears with a hearing loss of less than 40 dB NHL from a false negative level of 54% (click SP/AL) to 23% (1 kHz tone burst SP). It was concluded that the 1 kHz tone bursts improved the accuracy of transtympanic electrocoehleography in the diagnosis of Meniere's disease.

Key Words:

• electrocoehleography
• Meniere's disease
• endolymphatic hydrops
• summating potential