Progress of caloric response of vestibular neuronitis

Progress of caloric response and subjective symptoms of 60 patients with vestibular neuronitis was evaluated by a long term follow-up study. Normalization of caloric responses was confirmed in 25 (41.7%) out of 60 patients, 20 of whom had recovered within 2 years of the onset of vertigo. The rate of the patients with canal paresis was about 90% after 1 month of the onset, and 80% after 6 months, while 50% of them still showed canal paresis after 5 or 10 years had passed. Complete relief from subjective symptoms was recognized in 34 (56.7%) cases during the follow-up period. We conclude that the prognosis of vestibular neuronitis is not always good, because vestibular function did not recover within normal levels in about half of the patients in spite of complete relief from subjective symptoms in many of them.