Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical University, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Naoharu Kitajima, MD, PhD, Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 3342 6111; Fax: +81 3 3346 9275; E-mail: medart@js6.so-net.ne.jp
Abstract: Pupillary dilation in response to sound stimuli is well established and is generally considered to represent a startle reflex to sound. We believe that the auditory-pupillary response represents not only a simple startle reflex to sound stimuli but also represents a reaction to stimulation of other sense organs, such as otolith organs. Eight young healthy volunteers without a history of hearing and equilibrium problems and 12 subjects with bilateral deafness participated in this study. Computer pupillography was used to analyze the auditory-pupillary responses of both eyes in all subjects. We found that auditory-pupillary responses occurred even in subjects with bilateral deafness and that this response was comparable to those of normal subjects. We propose that the auditory-pupillary response also relates to vestibular function. Thus, assessing the auditory-pupillary response may be useful for evaluating the vestibulo-autonomic response in patients with peripheral disequilibrium.
Keywords: Auditory-pupillary response, vestibulo-autonomic response, bilateral deafness, vestibular function
