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The glycerin test for endolymphatic hydrops was administered to 122 patients with sensorineural hearing loss and a potential diagnosis of Meniere disease.Significant improvement for sensitivity and/or speech discrimination ability was shown at a three-hour period following ingestion of glycerin for 50 of the 97 ears with the final diagnoses of Meniere disease. Only one false-positive finding was observed among the 59 ears in other final diagnostic categories. Cases of acoustic neuroma gave negative glycerin responses.Procedures and side effects of the test are acceptable for office practice.

Stapedius reflex data were obtained from 68 patients with normal hearing thresholds and without history of ear disease. The patients were divided into age groups by decade, and the data were studied with respect to reflex threshold, amplitude, and decay.Reflex thresholds were higher in the younger age groups than those observed in the older patients. Amplitude was greatest in the middle age groups and was found to be frequency-dependent (greatest at 2,000 Hz and smallest at 4,000 Hz). Decay of the reflex was measured by determining half-life and the slope of the amplitude decrement during a ten-second stimulation. Decay was found to be greatest at 4,000 Hz and was rarely present at 500 Hz.

The glycerol test for endolymphatic hydrops was administered to 21 patients with sensorineural hearing loss. Pure-tone sensitivity measurements and standard speech audiometry tests were completed prior to glycerol ingestion and at periods up to three hours after intake. Significant improvement in air conduction thresholds and speech discrimination scores were shown only in cases of Meniere's disease with fluctuating hearing loss. The results indicated that the test is an appropriate diagnostic tool in the evaluation of Meniere's cases and that it is a prognostic tool for evaluation of therapy. The test also offers the possibility of differentiating certain cochlear and retrocochlear lesions.