Emerging techniques in the diagnosis of Ménière's disease

"Electrocochleography (Ecochg) has long been available as a clinical tool for diagnosing Ménière's disease (MD). However, due to its poor sensitivity and specificity (ranging from 20-65%) it is not often included in the clinical test battery," explains Adam Shulberg, Managing Director and Senior Audiologist at Cubex.

"Recent studies looking at measuring the SP/AP area ratio rather than the SP/AP amplitude ratio have shown that the sensitivity and specificity values associated with these measures were 92% and 84%, respectively," explains Leigh Martin, Senior Audiologist at Cubex. "Cubex is currently one of the few audiology clinics in the UK that are able to measure this information, as traditional AEP systems do not have the facility to make these calculations."

Measurement of the reduced Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) amplitudes has also been related to the confirmation of MD."In the past, we have found varying muscle contractions that normally occur during VEMP testing could often result in incorrect asymmetry calculations. At present, we are successfully using 'EMG scaling' found in the Eclipse AEP platform to avoid this potential problem. EMG Scaling ensures a balanced presentation of responses from Left and Right," explains Adam. "This new facility allows us to successfully and accurately use the VEMP in our Ménière's test battery."Ecochg, VEMP and DPOAE clinics currently run every Wednesday and Friday. If this does not suit your needs, please let us know and we will try our best to accommodate you and your patient.Please contact us for more information on Electrophysiology at Cubex

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Patterned sound therapy for the treatment of tinnitus