Does Vestibular Rehabilitation Influence Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) ‎in Patients with Meniere’s Disease?

Purpose:Meniere’s disease is a disorder associated with balance problems. This study aimed to explore characteristics of vestibular myogenic evoked potentials (VEMP) and the possible effect of vestibular rehabilitation program on these responses in patients with unilateral Meniere's disease.Methods:23 patients with a definite unilateral Meniere’s disease and 15 healthy control subjects were included in this study. All patients underwent a complete auditory-vestibular test battery. The vestibular rehabilitation program was performed in 4 weeks for the case group. Vestibular myogenic evoked potentials were evaluated before and after receiving the treatment program.Results:The prevalence level of VEMP response at the frequency of 500 Hz in the affected, non-affected and control ears were 82.60%, 95.7% and 100, respectively, and in response to 1000 Hz, they were 87%, 95.7% and 100%, respectively.There was no significant difference in average amplitude of the p13-n23 component between the two studied groups, whereas there was a significant difference in the asymmetry ratios in people with Meniere's disease (equivalent to 37.78% and 24.31% at frequencies of 500 and 1000 Hz, respectively) compared to the control group (6.88% and 7.90%). In addition, the average amplitude ratio of 500/1000 Hz in the affected ear (1.19±0.47) was much lower than that of the non-affected ear (1.54±0.28) (p= 0.006). The vestibular rehabilitation program for one month did not significantly affect the asymmetry ratios (p= 0.26) and other characteristics of VEMP response.Conclusion:VEMP test can be used to discriminate with a good degree of clinical accuracy between Meniere’s ears (unilateral) and those of healthy controls, however, one-month vestibular rehabilitation does not affect VEMP-related parameters.