Sequence of vestibular deficits in patients with noise-induced hearing loss

This study utilized audiometry, and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), ocular VEMP (oVEMP) and caloric tests to investigate the sequence of vestibular deficits in patients with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Thirty patients with NIHL underwent an inner ear test battery. Another 30 normal controls with age- and sex-matched were included for comparison. The abnormal percentages of the audiometry, and cVEMP, oVEMP and caloric tests were 100, 70, 57 and 33 % in NIHL patients, which showed significant differences from 13, 13, 7 and 3 % in normal controls, respectively. A significantly decreasing trend among the four tests, with the sequence of damage from the cochlea, followed by the saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals was noted in NIHL patients, but not in normal controls. In conclusion, the decreasing order of abnormal percentages in the function of the cochlea, saccule, utricle and semicircular canals after chronic noise exposure further supports that the pars inferior (cochlea and saccule) is more vulnerable to noise exposure than the pars superior (utricle and semicircular canals).