Effects of Age on Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials and Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials Using 750 Hz Tone Burst Stimuli among Healthy Adults

BACKGROUND: The vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) response characteristics depend on age, stimulus and individual anatomical differences. Therefore, normative data are required for accurate VEMPs interpretations. This cross-sectional study investigates VEMPs age-related changes among healthy adults using 750 Hz short alternating tone burst (TB) stimuli. METHODS: Fifty adults aged between 23 years old and 76 years old with a mean of 51.56 (SD = 16.44) years old underwent air-conducted (AC) cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and head taps ocular VEMPs (oVEMPs) testing. RESULTS: The cVEMPs and oVEMPs response rates reduced significantly at the age of 50-year-old and above. No significant age trends were observed for both cVEMPs and oVEMPs latencies and asymmetry ratios. However, amplitude reduced with increasing age for both cVEMPs, P < 0.001 and oVEMPs, P = 0.01. No significant differences in cVEMPs and oVEMPs latencies, amplitude or asymmetry ratios were identified between gender. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published normative data for cVEMPs and oVEMPS in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, obtained among healthy adults aged between 23 years old and 76 years old. Health professionals in the region can use these findings as VEMPs normative references in their clinical settings.