High stimulation rate ABR reveals auditory brainstem conduction abnormalities in vestibular migraine

To explore the application value of high-stimulation-rate auditory brainstem response (ABR) in evaluating auditory pathway conduction in vestibular migraine (VM) patients and to analyze its correlation with clinical symptoms. A prospective case-control study was conducted, including 56 VM patients (56ears) and 56 healthy controls (56 ears). All subjects underwent acoustic immittance testing, pure-tone audiometry, and ABR testing at low (11.1/s) and high (51.1/s) stimulation rates.

The interpeak latency variance of wave I–V (ΔI-VIPL) between high and low stimulation rates was calculated, and ≥ 0.28 ms was defined as the abnormal threshold. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were used to evaluate headache intensity and dizziness-related handicap, respectively. The correlations between these scores and ΔI-VIPL were also analyzed.

At the low stimulation rate, no significant differences in ABR parameters were observed between the control and VM groups (P > 0.05). At the high stimulation rate, the latencies of waves III and V, as well as the I–III, I–V and ΔI-VIPLs, were significantly prolonged in the VM group (P