Perioperative bone-conducted ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials in otosclerosis patients

Vestibular symptoms are seen variably in patients with otosclerosis, both in patients with the disease and in patients after treatment with stapes surgery. The goal of this study was to objectify any changes of the bone-conducted (BC) ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) in patients with otosclerosis before and after stapes surgery.

Twenty-six healthy subjects and 27 patients with otosclerosis were tested in a tertiary care center, and 11 of the patients were tested preoperatively and postoperatively. The ears of patients were divided in 4 groups: normal ears, otosclerotic ears, ears after primary stapes surgery, and ears after revision surgery. The stimulus used in oVEMP testing was a BC stimulus delivered by a mini-shaker at stimulus frequencies of 250 and 500 Hz. oVEMP characteristics were the n1 and p1 latencies, n1 - p1 amplitude, and threshold.

No significant differences were seen in all oVEMP characteristics between the 4 groups of ears without surgery nor in the ears that were tested preoperatively and postoperatively.

No or undetectably little damage to the utricle is caused by both otosclerotic disease and stapes surgery. There is no additive value of screening with BC oVEMPs perioperatively in otosclerotic patients.