Test-retest reliability of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials with a B81 bone conductor

Abstract

Objective: To determine the test-retest reliability of cervical and ocular vestibular myogenic potentials (VEMPs) evoked by a 500 Hz narrowband (NB) CE-Chirp conducted through a B81 Bone Conductor. Design: This study employed a quantitative, exploratory research design. A within-participant, within-session, and between-session reliability analysis was conducted. Twenty participants (10 female, 10 male) were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling methods, with screening processes ensuring normal middle ear, hearing, and vestibular function. Data collection involved repeated testing sessions, with statistical analyses applied to assess the reliability of the recorded VEMP responses. The latency, amplitude and asymmetry of the VEMPs elicited at 55 dB nHL bone conduction (BC) CE-Chirp. Study Sample: The study population consisted of participants aged 18 to 60, with normal middle ear, hearing, and vestibular system functioning were recruited from the researchers' network of family and friends. Results: The Shapiro-Wilk test confirmed the use of non-parametric statistics. No significant differences were observed in P1 latency, N1 latency, or P1-N1 amplitude between ears or genders for both cVEMP and oVEMP parameters, allowing data to be pooled. The Friedman test revealed significant differences across variables (p<0.001) particularly between Test 1 and Test 3, with the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test identifying significant differences (p<0.05) in P1-N1 amplitude, asymmetry ratio, and P1/N1 latencies. Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate within-session reliability but very poor between-session reliability for both cVEMP and oVEMP parameters. Conclusions: The B81 bone conducted CE-Chirp c- and oVEMPs proved to be reliable in within- and between-session testing regarding P1-N1 amplitudes and asymmetry ratio.