TY - JOUR
T1 - The peaked audiometric configuration in Meniere's disease
T2 - Disease related?
AU - Ries, Dennis T.
AU - Rickert, Michelle
AU - Schlauch, Robert S.
PY - 1999/8
Y1 - 1999/8
N2 - A retrospective analysis of audiograms was completed for persons from 3 different patient groups. These 3 groups were (1) persons with unilateral Meniere's disease, (2) persons with unilateral acoustic tumor, and (3) persons from the general clinical population of an audiology clinic in a major medical center. As Paparella, McDermott, Luiz, and de Sousa (1982) also report, the most common audiometric configuration in the Meniere's disease group was peaked, a condition in which poorer hearing is reported in the low and high frequencies, and an island of better hearing sensitivity occurs at either 1.0 or 2.0 kHz. Some of the peaked audiograms from persons in our Meniere's disease group could be a result of a low-frequency hearing loss caused by Meniere's disease combined with a high-frequency hearing loss due to aging or other environmental factors. However, 27% (13/48) of the peaked audiograms in ears with Meniere's disease were found in persons with no hearing loss in the high frequencies of their nondiseased ear. Thus, the peaked audiometric configuration is associated with Meniere's disease, as suggested by research results from animals with experimentally induced endolymphatic hydrops. Peaked audiometric configurations were also observed in roughly 9% of the general clinical population and in 12.5% of ears of persons with acoustic tumors. A rule-based on the audiometric configurations that maximized identification of patients with Meniere's disease-using the general clinical population as a control did not fare as well when the tumor group was used as a control. This finding provides further evidence that peaked audiograms, although common to Meniere's disease, are not pathognomonic of this disease. Furthermore, these results indicate that the diagnosis of Meniere's disease from audiometric profiles is risky, at best.
AB - A retrospective analysis of audiograms was completed for persons from 3 different patient groups. These 3 groups were (1) persons with unilateral Meniere's disease, (2) persons with unilateral acoustic tumor, and (3) persons from the general clinical population of an audiology clinic in a major medical center. As Paparella, McDermott, Luiz, and de Sousa (1982) also report, the most common audiometric configuration in the Meniere's disease group was peaked, a condition in which poorer hearing is reported in the low and high frequencies, and an island of better hearing sensitivity occurs at either 1.0 or 2.0 kHz. Some of the peaked audiograms from persons in our Meniere's disease group could be a result of a low-frequency hearing loss caused by Meniere's disease combined with a high-frequency hearing loss due to aging or other environmental factors. However, 27% (13/48) of the peaked audiograms in ears with Meniere's disease were found in persons with no hearing loss in the high frequencies of their nondiseased ear. Thus, the peaked audiometric configuration is associated with Meniere's disease, as suggested by research results from animals with experimentally induced endolymphatic hydrops. Peaked audiometric configurations were also observed in roughly 9% of the general clinical population and in 12.5% of ears of persons with acoustic tumors. A rule-based on the audiometric configurations that maximized identification of patients with Meniere's disease-using the general clinical population as a control did not fare as well when the tumor group was used as a control. This finding provides further evidence that peaked audiograms, although common to Meniere's disease, are not pathognomonic of this disease. Furthermore, these results indicate that the diagnosis of Meniere's disease from audiometric profiles is risky, at best.
KW - Acoustic tumor
KW - Audiogram
KW - Audiometric configurations
KW - Differential diagnosis
KW - Meniere's disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032783873&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0032783873&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1044/jslhr.4204.829
DO - 10.1044/jslhr.4204.829
M3 - Article
C2 - 10450904
AN - SCOPUS:0032783873
SN - 1092-4388
VL - 42
SP - 829
EP - 843
JO - Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
JF - Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
IS - 4
ER -