Objective: To study the utility of VEMP (vestibular-evoked myogenic potenti
al) in the diagnosis of acoustic neuromas. Methods: Eighteen patients with
unilateral acoustic neuromas were subjected to this study. Myogenic potenti
al responding to loud click stimuli was recorded at ipsilateral sternocleid
omastoid muscle. A normal range of VEMP was obtained from 20 controls. VEMP
responses were compared with both, clinical symptoms and results of calori
c tests. Result: Thirteen out of 18 patients showed decreased responses of
VEMP at the affected side. VEMP responses seemed to have little relation wi
th dysequilibrium, spontaneous nystagmus, canal paresis and pure-tone heari
ng. Conclusion: VEMP is useful for detecting dysfunction of inferior vestib
ular nerve in patients with acoustic neuromas. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ir
eland Ltd. All rights reserved.