Perilymphatic pressure dynamics following posture change in patients with Meniere's disease and in normal hearing subjects

The hydrostatic pressure of the inner ear depends on the cerebrospinal fluid pressure through the cochlear aqueduct. The time-course of inner ear pressure change following rapid change in cerebrospinal fluid pressure is related to the aqueduct patency. In this study the patency of the cochlear aqueduct in 27 patients with Meniere's disease (28 affected ears, 16 non-affected ears) and in 12 normal hearing subjects (18 control ears) was assessed non-invasively by means of the MMS-IO Tympanic Displacement Analyser. Following a rapid change in body position, changes in intracranial cerebrospinal fluid pressure were found to influence perilymphatic pressure within 1 min. No significant differences were found among affected ears, non-affected ears and control ears.