Using 100 Hz Sound Stimulation promising for Treatment of Saccular Dysfunction in Meniere's Disease, Study Shows

The findings, published in Acta Oto-Laryngologica, suggest that a new treatment method emerges for vestibular dysfunction linked to Meniere’s disease: adequate sound stimulation.

Saccular dysfunction, a hallmark of Meniere’s disease, affects the balance and hearing organs within the inner ear. Traditional treatments have focused on managing symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes. The saccule, a crucial part of the inner ear affected in Meniere’s disease, responds selectively to certain frequencies. By delivering targeted sound at 100 Hz, the study aimed to restore normal function and mitigate the debilitating symptoms experienced by patients.

Although various medical remedies have been attempted to reduce MD symptoms, the risk-benefit ratios of these multiple treatments remain debatable. Michihiko Sonea, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan, and colleagues aimed to investigate the efficacy of sound stimulation of 100 Hz for treating vestibular dysfunction in patients with Meniere’s disease.

For this purpose, the researchers evaluated patients with definitive MD with intractable vestibular symptoms and endolymphatic hydrops (EH) in the inner ear.

The experimental group was exposed to 75 dB sound stimulation at a frequency of 100 Hz for 5 minutes, while the control group received 75 dB sound stimulation at a frequency of 250 Hz for 5 minutes. Before and after each sound stimulation, the researchers measured cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, and the results of the clinical tests were compared between the two patient groups.

The research team observed significant increases in cVEMP amplitudes after sound stimulation of 100 Hz in ears with vestibular endolymphatic hydrops, although no such improvement was observed in the control group.

"Adequate sound stimulation might be a new method for treating the vestibular dysfunction linked with Meniere disease," the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Sone, M., Ohgami, N., Katayama, N., Kobayashi, M., Gu, Y., Tong, K., … Kato, M. (2024). Efficacy of 100 hz sound stimulation on saccular dysfunction in meniere’s disease. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/00016489.2024.2363462