Findings on the alteration of the cortical afferent auditive signal in the Méniere disease

Abstract

A retrospective paper is presented, where the responses of the central afferent auditive system in 36 patients suffering from vertigo and imbalance, fluctuating hypoacusia and tinnitus who were clinically considered bearers of the classical Méniere Disease were checked. They were checked with the normal otoneurological exams and the central afferent auditive conduct was studied with the auditory cerebral mapping averaged. This study was made on all these patients through the sound stimulation of one ear, and later the afferent responses of the cerebral cortex were recorded up to 15 milliseconds, by means of a 22 channel computerized electroencephalograph, and averaging them to eliminate non auditive cerebral activity, which allowed to make a topographic mapping of the electrical responses of the cerebral cortex and of the cerebral zones that process audition through the Fourier quick Transformer. After the responses of one ear, the other ear is successively examined. The cerebral mappings obtained from the 36 patients with unilateral Meniere Disease, and repeated in hypoacousia stage, as well as auditive normality, were compared to those obtained from healthy persons without auditive pathology. The most relevant finding was: in all Méniere patients we found alterations of the afferent signal at the level of the contralateral primary auditive cerebral cortex and of the secondary ipsilateral auditive cortex. This response from the auditive cerebral cortex, different to what we find in normal people, could be useful to find the origin of the Méniere Disease.