NONINVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF INTRACOCHLEAR P RESSURE .1. BASIC ASPECTS AND NORMAL FINDINGS

The intracochlear pressure cannot yet be evaluated in patients with ce rtain audiological neuro-otological diseases. However, it seems to be of importance in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of Meniere's disease a nd related disorders. The present paper is aimed at introducing a setu p to indirectly assess intracochlear and intracranial pressure changes and the design and philosophy of this technique. It is possible to de scribe a normal range of the measured values in healthy controls altho ugh large interindividual variations occur. In addition, the positiona l changes of the registered parameters enable assessment of the patenc y of the cochlear aquaeduct. This seems to be important in some diseas es, such as stapes gusher.