Frequency-dependent cVEMP characteristics in meniere’s disease and vestibular migraine: a comparative study

Abstract Background Meniere’s disease (MD) and Vestibular Migraine (VM) are two common causes of vertigo, but their clinical presentation can overlap, making differential diagnosis challenging. Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP) at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz have been used extensively to characterise their parameters in these conditions for differential diagnosis. However, there is a lack of consistency in the pattern of abnormality across different studies. Therefore, current research aimed to assess cVEMP responses at multiple frequencies such as 500 Hz, 750 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz to determine if there are frequency-specific patterns that can aid in the differentiation of Meniere’s disease and vestibular migraine. Results Three groups of participants, healthy controls, MD and VM underwent cVEMP testing using 500 Hz, 750 Hz, 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz tone burst stimuli. Patients with MD showed significantly prolonged P 13 latency at 500 Hz compared to patients with VM. Peak-to-peak amplitude showed significantly reduced amplitude in MD at all frequencies compared to VM. IFAR for MD showed significantly higher values at 1000/500 Hz than VM. Conclusions Frequency-dependent cVEMP at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz are more useful in differentially diagnosing VM and MD.