Apparent travelling wave velocity changes in cases of endolymphatic hydrops

This study attempted to develop a test which would be specific for endolymphatic hydrops. It is based upon the hypothesis that increased pressure in the scala media will alter the stiffness of the basilar membrane and hence increase the speed of the travelling wave. Auditory brainstem-derived responses were used to measure the basilar membrane travelling wave velocity in normals and to take the equivalent measures in Meniere's patients. Ten normally hearing subjects and 20 Meniere's patients were tested. The data for the Meniere's group showed that the travelling wave velocities were within normal limits at all frequencies tested, except 5.7 kHz where the travelling wave velocity greatly exceeded that of the normal group. A theoretical possibility that these findings may be the result of damaged and broadened VIIIth nerve tuning curves is discussed but travelling wave measures and psychophysical tuning curve measurements on the Meniere's group, normals and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) cases showed that this was not a significant factor. The data indicate that this technique can detect endolymphatic hydrops and a short duration clinical procedure has been devised.