Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test-retest reliability in adults

• Published in: Journal of vestibular research Vol. 34; no. 1; p. 39
• Main Authors: Obeidat, Faten S, Alghwiri, Alia A, Bell, Steven L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 22.02.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Humans; Reproducibility of Results; Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials - physiology; Vestibule, Labyrinth; Vibration; bone-conducted vibration; vestibular evoked myogenic potential; air-conducted sound; Reliability
• ISSN: 1878-6464
• DOI: 10.3233/VES-230029

The technique of measuring ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) in response to Mini-shaker vibration is relatively new, there is a limited normative data to define the presence or absence of a response in the literature. To determine the test-retest reliability of cervical and ocular VEMPs (cVEMP and oVEMP, respectively) to air-conducted sound (ACS) and bone-conducted vibration (BCV) stimulation and to determine normative ranges for the responses. Twenty normal-hearing individuals (40 ears) and 20 hearing impaired volunteers with normal balance function (40 ears) were examined in this study. ACS cVEMP and BCV oVEMP (using a Mini-shaker) were recorded from both groups to assess the test-retest reliability and to collect normative VEMP data for P1/N1 latencies and amplitudes from 20 normal hearing individuals. To test reliability, VEMP recordings were repeated within the same session. The test-retest reliability for all the cVEMP parameters showed excellent reliability whereas oVEMP parameters showed between fair and excellent reliability depending on the parameter tested. Normative data for VEMP P1/N1 latencies and amplitudes were established. Normative data and test-retest reliability for BCV oVEMP using the Mini-shaker at 100 Hz were established in our study for the first time in the literature. Responses appear reliable.