Comparison of Subjective Symptomatology and Responses to Harmonic Acceleration in Patients with Menière's Disease

Abstract

Vestibular function testing employing caloric stimulation has been of limited value in the evaluation of patients with Menière's disease, with its cardinal shortcoming being poor repeatability. This modality has not been useful in determining appropriate treatment for these individuals. We have used low frequency harmonic acceleration to study patients with vestibular pathology and have noted a high level of repeatability of responses to this type of stimulation. This study was designed to determine if the clinical status of patients with Menière's disease could be correlated with their responses to harmonic acceleration. Thirty-six patients with typical symptoms of Menière's disease were evaluated and divided into four groups based on severity of symptoms. Analysis of variance of the phase shifts in asymmetry (or preponderance) showed a significant difference between the groups. Responses to this type of stimulation correlated with the clinical status of the patients to a significant degree. These data indicate that harmonic acceleration can be of value to the otologist in the evaluation of patients with Menière's disease.