Single sinusoids compared with a multiple-sinusoids technique for evaluating horizontal semicircular canal function

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) of 162 normal subjects was evaluated using two rotational testing procedures. Data from 79 subjects were collected using a set of five single-frequency stimuli (0.01 to 0.16 Hz) and 83 subjects were tested using multifrequency stimuli (0.01 to 0.27 Hz). The use of multifrequency stimuli in place of single frequencies reduced testing time from 75 min to 20 min per subject. The diagnostically useful phase response of the VOR, as estimated by the two tests, were not statistically different. Equivalent phase measures may be obtained within a shorter testing period using the multifrequency procedure.