High-frequency skull vibration-induced nystagmus test in partial vestibular lesions.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the effectiveness of the skull vibration-induced nystagmus test (SVINT) as a rapid high-frequency stimulation test, in the evaluation of partial unilateral vestibular lesions (pUVL).

METHODS: SVINT (30, 60, and 100 Hz), caloric, and head-shaking tests were performed in 99 patients with pUVL. These results were compared with those in 9 patients with symmetrical partial bilateral labyrinthine malformations, 131 patients with total unilateral vestibular lesions (tUVL), and 95 control subjects.

RESULTS: A skull vibratory nystagmus (SVN) was found in 75% of patients with pUVL and 98% with tUVL. In pUVL: SVINT revealed asymmetric responses in 20% of patients where other tests were normal; SVN direction at 100 Hz was opposite to the head-shaking nystagmus direction in 30% and opposite to SVN at 30 Hz in 10% of cases. At 100 Hz, SVN beat toward the safe side in 91% of cases; SVN values at 60 and 100 Hz were higher than those at 30 Hz (p < 0.005). SVN was found in unilateral superior canal dehiscences. Partial bilateral labyrinthine malformations revealed no nystagmus.

CONCLUSION: SVINT complements head-shaking and caloric tests in multifrequency assessment of patients with pUVL, as a global vestibular test. In contrast with tUVL results, SVINT does not always indicate the side of partial lesions, neither does it locate their level on the vestibulo-ocular pathway. This test is useful to reveal a vestibular asymmetry as a bedside examination test and may be used as a "vestibular Weber."