Promontory electrical stimulation to elicit vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs)

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) provoked electrically at the promontory provide a feasible method to record vestibular responses in awake patients.

Electrically evoked VEMP testing has been performed by galvanic stimulation at the mastoid so far. The present study examined an electrical stimulation mode close to the otolith organs at the promontory.

Fourteen cochlear implant candidates who were planned for clinical routine promontory stimulation testing (PST) to assess auditory nerve function underwent promontory VEMP testing. After testing the cochlear nerve function during PST promontory cervical VEMPs (p-c-VEMPs) and promontory ocular VEMPs (p-o-VEMPs) were recorded during subsequent transtympanic electrical stimulation at the promontory.

Promontory VEMP testing was well tolerated by the patients. Mean latencies for p-c-VEMPs were 10.30 ± 2.23 ms (p1) and 17.86 ± 3.83 ms (n1). Mean latencies for p-o-VEMPs were 7.64 ± 1.24 ms (n1) and 11.2 ± 1.81 ms (p1). The stimulation threshold level was measured at 0.15 ± 0.07 mA for p-c-VEMPs and at 0.19 ± 0.11 mA for p-o-VEMPs. The discomfort level was found to be at 0.78 ± 0.29 mA for p-c-VEMPs and at 0.69 ± 0.25 mA for p-oVEMPs. Mean p1-n1 amplitude in p-c-VEMPs was 124.78 ± 56.55 µV and p-o-VEMPs showed a mean n1-p1 amplitude of 30.94 ± 18.98 µV.