Enhanced vestibulo-ocular reflex responses on VHIT. Is it a casual finding or a sign of vestibular dysfunction?

Abstract

In current clinical practice, when in response to vHIT testing the observed slow-phase eye-velocity responses are significantly higher than head velocity, the most probable cause is considered to be an inadequate collection method or a recording artifact. We present two cases with clinical diagnoses of Menière's Disease: for both cases, enhanced eye velocity responses were measured with a rigorous vHIT testing protocol. In the first case we measured these enhanced responses on each test performed during a 5 year time series; in the second case multiple measurements were obtained from a patient after the radiologic diagnosis of vestibulo-cochlear hydrops. The two cases presented and the new evidence reported by other researchers suggest that owing to the low probability of artifact and the high consistency of the vHIT measurements, we should consider the hypothesis of a physio-pathologic cause for the enhanced eye responses to vHIT testing of some patients with vestibular dysfunction.