Comprehensive Normative Data for Objective Vestibular Tests

Suman Narayana Swamy; Pradeep Yuvaraj; Nupur Pruthi; Kandavel Thennarasu; Aravind Kumar Rajasekaran

doi:10.7759/cureus.40080

Comprehensive Normative Data for Objective Vestibular Tests

Cureus. 2023 Jun 7;15(6):e40080. doi: 10.7759/cureus.40080. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Suman Narayana Swamy¹, Pradeep Yuvaraj¹, Nupur Pruthi², Kandavel Thennarasu³, Aravind Kumar Rajasekaran¹

Affiliations

¹ Speech Pathology and Audiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, IND.
² Neurosurgery, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, IND.
³ Biostatistics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, IND.

Abstract

Introduction: Vestibular dysfunction is a debilitating disorder frequently encountered in neurological and otological settings. The vestibular system is a complex network between peripheral and central mechanisms. This innate complexity of the vestibular system necessitates objective test procedures for evidence-based diagnostic formulations and intervention. Objective tests aid in the evaluation of both peripheral and central vestibular pathologies. Establishing and availability of comprehensive normative data for these objective tests is crucial for clinicians and researchers alike.

Materials and methods: This is a prospective study involving 120 participants (both males and females) aged between 18 and 55 years. All participants were right-handed individuals and had no significant medical history. On pre-set protocols, cVEMP (cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential), oVEMP (ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential), vHIT (video head impulse test), and VNG (videonystagmography) were done.

Results: While all participants (n=120) underwent cVEMP, oVEMP, vHIT, saccade, smooth pursuit, and optokinetic tests, only 109 participants consented to the caloric test. Each test's mean, standard deviation, median, quartile, and third quartiles have been recorded. A right-left comparison yielded no significant difference on cVEMP, oVEMP, caloric test, smooth pursuit, and optokinetic test. However, few vHIT and saccade parameters did reveal significant differences.

Discussion: This study presents comprehensive normative data for cVEMP, oVEMP, vHIT, caloric test on VNG, and oculomotor tests (smooth pursuit, saccade, optokinetic) on VNG. The test results were in concordance with previously published data. The significant difference between the right and left sides in vHIT may be because of the monocular goggles used for the testing.

Conclusion: This study brings out the normative data for various vestibular tests on individuals aged between 18-55 years. This information could aid both clinicians and researchers working in the field of vestibular science.

Keywords: caloric; optokinetic; saccade; smooth pursuit; vemp; vestibular assessment; vestibular function test; vhit; vng; vor gain.