Sound- and/or Pressure-Induced Vertigo Due to Bone Dehiscence of the Superior Semicircular Canal

We have identified patients with a syndrome of vestibular symptoms induced by sound in an ear or by changes in middle ear or intracranial pressure. These patients can also experience chronic disequilibrium. Eye movements in the plane parallel to that of the superior semicircular canal were evoked by stimuli that have the potential to cause ampullofugal or ampullopetal deflection of this canal's cupula in the presence of a dehiscence of bone overlying the canal. The existence of such deshiscences was confirmed with computed tomographic scans of the temporal bones. Surgical plugging of the affected canal may be beneficial in patients with disabling symptoms.