PERILYMPHATIC PRESSURE DYNAMICS FOLLOWING POSTURE CHANGE IN PATIENTS WITH MENIERES-DISEASE AND IN NORMAL-HEARING SUBJECTS

The hydrostatic pressure of the inner ear depends on the cerebrospinal fluid pressure through the cochlear aqueduct. The time-course of inne r ear pressure change following rapid change in cerebrospinal fluid pr essure is related to the aqueduct patency. In this study the patency o f the cochlear aqueduct in 27 patients with Meniere's disease (28 affe cted ears, 16 non-affected ears) and in 12 normal hearing subjects (18 control ears) was assessed non-invasively by means of the MMS-IO Tymp anic Displacement Analyser. Following a rapid change in body position, changes in intracranial cerebrospinal fluid pressure were found to in fluence perilymphatic pressure within 1 min. No significant difference s were found among affected ears, non-affected ears and control ears.