Clinical and Audiovestibular Profile of Meniere's Disease in Remote Tertiary Center in India

MD Sharif Alam, R. P. Thakur

Abstract: Aim: To determine the frequency of patients presenting with Meniere’s Disease (MD), using the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO) diagnostic criteria, and to describe the clinical and audio vestibular profiles of these patients. Method: Prospective case series design in the settings of a tertiary referral hospital. The study included all consecutive patients aged between 5 and 75 years presenting with the history of hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus and or aural fullness as participants, satisfying inclusion and exclusion criteria for MD (AAO 1995) followed for a 12 months period. Main outcome measures comprised the evaluation of epidemiological profile, clinical features, and results of audio vestibular investigations like Pure Tone Audiometry with and without glycerol, Impedance Audiometry, Electrocochleography (ECOG), Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission and Electronystagmography (ENG). Result: The frequency of MD was 15.6 %, being commoner in males than females (2.6: 1) and occurring more in the age group 40–49 years among males and 30–39 years among females. Low frequency hearing loss and high frequency tinnitus are more common. ECOG shows 76 % positive predictive value. Conclusion: There is very high chance of missing those cases until we will not kept in mind of AAO 1995 diagnostic criteria.

Keywords: Meniere's disease, Pure tone audiometry, Electrocochleography, AAO-HNS(1995) etc.