Source material for such a series is not widely available, and preparing the evidence is not easy. Nevertheless, Bandolier feels that a start should be made, if only to encourage readers to point out where information is available, or to induce them to start their own reviews. A health Authority of 250,000 patients would expect to see some 60 cases a year.
Treatment is usually with betahistine, which trials have shown to be effective.
It is a simple test that takes 20 minutes to perform, and though a fine needle is passed through the tympanic membrane it is not unpleasant for the patient. What it involves With the affected ear uppermost, and the tympanic membrane anaesthetised, a fine needle connected to a recording wire is passed through the anterior part of the membrane until it meets the medial wall of the inner ear. Here the needle is very close to the cochlea hair cells and is recording the electrical activity directly from these hair cells. Tonal clicks are then applied to the ear through headphones, usually at about 1000Hz, but of variable frequency and intensity. The needle is connected to an oscilloscope which records the activity from the cochlea and provides an electrical record of events in the inner ear.