Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) in patients with acoustic neuromas

Objective: To study the utility of VEMP (vestibular-evoked myogenic potential) in the diagnosis of acoustic neuromas. Methods: Eighteen patients with unilateral acoustic neuromas were subjected to this study. Myogenic potential responding to loud click stimuli was recorded at ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle. A normal range of VEMP was obtained from 20 controls. VEMP responses were compared with both, clinical symptoms and results of caloric tests. Result: Thirteen out of 18 patients showed decreased responses of VEMP at the affected side. VEMP responses seemed to have little relation with dysequilibrium, spontaneous nystagmus, canal paresis and pure-tone hearing. Conclusion: VEMP is useful for detecting dysfunction of inferior vestibular nerve in patients with acoustic neuromas. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.