Delayed endolymphatic hydrops(DEH) is a clinical entity which was described as a syndrome with the characteristic clinical findings such as rotatory vertigo or fluctuating hearing loss on the normal ear appearing a few years after unilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss or total deafness. Authors report the clinical study about 8 patients, 5 males and 3 females, who were diagnosed as DEH among the patients who visited the department of otolaryngology, Pusan Paik Hospital due to vertigo or fluctuating hearing distrubance from January 1989 to June 1990. 1) The ratio of DEH was 3.9% among 204 patients with vertigo or dizziness. 2) Age distribution was 3 cases in 2nd decade, 2 cases in 4th decade, 2 cases in 5th decade, and 1 case in 7th decade. 3) Chief complaint was vertigo in 7 cases and fluctuating hearing loss on the opposite ear in only 1 case. 4) The type of DEH was contralateral in 5 cases and ipsilateral in 3 cases. 5) The causes of preceding hearing loss were unknown in 4 cases, sudden deafness in 2 cases, and secondary to chronic otitis media in 2 case. 6) Latency between preceding hearing loss and vertigo or fluctuating hearing loss on normal ear was less than 10 years in 3 cases, 11-20 years in 2 cases, 21-30 years in 1 case and more than 40 years in 2 cases. 7) Resulting from vestibular function tests on first visit, spontaneous nystagmus was negative in all cases, gaze nystagmus showed horizontal or horizontorotatory type of first degreenystagmus in 5 cases, postional or positioning nystagmus was positive in 2 cases, and head shaking nystagmus was positive in 6 cases, of which monophasic was in 4 cases and biphasic was in 2 cases, In caloric test canal paresis was positive in 3 cases.
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