INTRODUCTION
Vestibular schwannomas (VS) make up approximately 8% of brain tumours
and are found in about 1 in 100,000 persons annually11Hojjat H.,
Svider P., Davoodian P., Hong R., Folbe A., Eloy J.A., et al: To image
or not to image? A cost-effectiveness analysis of MRI for patients
with asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss. Laryngoscope 2017; 127:
pp. 939-944.
Asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss (ASNHL) and tinnitus are the major
presenting symptoms in these patients. There is currently insufficient
evidence to recommend a strategy that relies entirely on asymmetry at
any single auditory pure-tone
threshold.
Despite its vestibular nerve origins, the role of vestibular function
testing in VS is poorly defined. Analysis of vestibular functioning with
caloric testing or Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs) to
diagnose VS has yielded high sensitivity and low specificity
results22Chiarovano E, Darlington C, Vidal PP, Lamas G, de Waele
C. The role of cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic
potentials in the assessment of patients with vestibular schwannomas.
PLoS One. 2014 Aug 19;9(8):e105026.. Semicircular canal function
analysis, using video head-impulse testing (vHIT), have demonstrated a
reduced Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) gain in
VS33Taylor RL, Kong J,
Flanagan S, Pogson J, Croxson G, Pohl D, Welgampola MS. Prevalence of
vestibular dysfunction in patients with vestibular schwannoma using
video head-impulses and vestibular-evoked potentials. J Neurol. 2015
May;262(5):1228-37.. Nevertheless, the role of the vHIT as a clinical
screening tool for VS remains undefined.
The Vibration-induced nystagmus (VIN) test is a simple and reliable
method for detecting vestibular
asymmetry44Park
H, Lee
Y, Park
M, Kim
J, Shin
J. Test-retest reliability of vibration-induced nystagmus in
peripheral dizzy patients.J Vestib
Res. 2010;20(6):427-31.. In the present study, we investigated the
role of vHIT and VIN in diagnosing VS in a population of patients with
ASNHL.