Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Vestibular migraine is vertigo caused directly by migraine. Otoacoustic emission (OAE) is a low sound generated in the cochlea and measured in the outer ear canal. The purpose of this study was to determine whether vestibular migraine with normal pure tone audiometry has abnormal changes in cochlear (OHC) function measured by distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs).

MATERIALS and METHODS: DPOAEs were measured from 34 definite vestibular migraine patients with normal peripheral hearing sensitivity (11 males and 23 females), and they were compared to the results of 30 normal subjects (12 males and 18 females).

RESULTS: The mean emission amplitudes across the DPOAE-measured frequencies in both ears of patients with definite vestibular migraine were lower than that of the normal subjects but statistically non-significant (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: The emission amplitudes that were reduced could be attributed to the patho-physiologic mechanism encountered in the ears of those patients, in spite of being of non-statically significant values. Our results suggest that definite vestibular migraine patients with normal peripheral hearing sensitivity may have subclinical cochlear affection associated with this disease.