Is the vestibular system affected by middle ear effusion?

• Published in: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery Vol. 109; no. 3 Pt 1; p. 421
• Main Authors: Ben-David, J, Podoshin, L, Fradis, M, Faraggi, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-09-1993
• Subjects: Audiometry; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Female; Head - physiopathology; Humans; Male; Middle Ear Ventilation; Movement; Otitis Media with Effusion - complications; Otitis Media with Effusion - surgery; Photography; Pilot Projects; Rotation; Vestibular Diseases - diagnosis; Vestibular Diseases - etiology; Vestibular Diseases - physiopathology; Vestibular Function Tests - methods
• ISSN: 0194-5998
• DOI: 10.1177/019459989310900306

The association between middle ear effusion (MEE) and vestibular pathology is controversial. To investigate this point, 50 children with MEE scheduled for myringotomy and grommet, and 20 normal hearing children without MEE scheduled for adenotonsillectomy, underwent vestibular investigations by craniocorpography and rotatory chair, preoperatively and postoperatively. Most of the correlations, preoperative vs. postoperative, and study vs. control groups, were nonsignificant. Assuming that serous labyrinthitis is responsible for vestibular involvement in MEE, the lack of significant vestibular pathology in our study could probably be explained by the fact that no children with acute otitis media episodes or otalgia were included.