The symptoms of vestibular irritation are few. They are given in the book of the late Dr. Kerrison as nystagmus, vertigo and ataxia.1 The causes of these symptoms are many and have been enumerated by me in published articles.2 Approximately thirty-five known causes for symptoms of vestibular irritation have been reported.
Vestibular irritation can easily be divided into two separate categories: nonsuppurative involvements of the labyrinth and those associated with infection, either local or general. This presentation will consider surgical procedures used to eliminate infections in the temporal bone and thereby relieve labyrinthine symptoms.
Pus located inside the labyrinth usually produces a dead labyrinth. A dead labyrinth will not respond to any stimulation. A labyrinth that is surrounded by pus and is secondarily involved by the inflammatory process usually can be distinguished from a labyrinth containing pus because a response to stimulation is present.
Labyrinthine symptoms observed in a patient
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