The relationship between hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL). METHODS: Clinical data including the symptom of vertigo of 149 SSHL patients were investigated retrospectively. Pure tone audiometry, ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) evoked by air-conducted sound (ACS), and caloric test were employed for cochlear and vestibular function assessment. The relationship between hearing level and vestibular dysfunction was analyzed. RESULTS: The pure tone averages (PTAs) (mean ± SD) of SSHL patients with and without vertigo were 88.81 ± 21.74 dB HL and 72.49 ± 21.88 dB HL (Z = -4.411, p = 0.000), respectively. The PTAs of SSHL patients with abnormal and normal caloric test were 84.71 ± 22.54 dB HL and 70.41 ± 24.07 dB HL (t = -2.665, p = 0.009), respectively. Conversely, vertigo and abnormal caloric results also happened more frequently in patients with profound hearing loss. However, no consistent tendency could be found among vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) responses or hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: SSHL patients with vertigo or abnormal caloric test displayed worse hearing loss; and vice versa, vertigo and abnormal caloric results happened more frequently in SSHL patients with profound hearing loss.