Masseter VEMP in Individuals with Severe to Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Abstract

The cochlear and the vestibular structures are connected with each other. Hence, pathology of the cochlear system can also affect the vestibular system. Masseter VEMP is a recent tool that assesses the saculomassetric reflex pathways. In this study, masseter vestibular evoked myogenic potential (mVEMP) was assessed in individuals with acquired severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Twenty participants with a mean age of 34.4 years having acquired severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss and twenty participants with normal hearing with a mean age of 21.7 years participated for the study. The latency of p1 and n1 peaks and amplitude of p1-n1 complex were measured for normal hearing and hearing impaired group. The results showed that the hearing loss group had prolonged p1 and n1 peak latency than the normal hearing group. The P1-N1 complex's amplitude was lowered in the hearing loss group, although this difference was not statistically significant (z =-1.636, p = 0.102). The presence or absence of mVEMP responses indicated a significant association with the degree of hearing loss in the right ear but not for the left ear. There was no evidence of a significant relationship between the duration of hearing loss and the presence or absence of mVEMP responses. The findings show that severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss can affect the masseter vestibular evoked myogenic potential by delaying the peak latencies although the amplitudes may not be significantly changed. The presence of mVEMP responses appears to be influenced by the hearing loss severity. To conclude, the study's findings imply that severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss can affect the vestibulomasseteric reflex pathway by causing delayed latency in mVEMP responses, even if the amplitudes may not be greatly affected. The presence of mVEMP responses was found to be influenced by hearing loss severity, while the duration of hearing loss had no discernible effect on the mVEMP responses.