ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the precautions that can be taken to increase the reliability of the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials test without being affected by the asymmetry of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the issues that should be considered in the interpretation of vestibular evoked myogenic potential results if these precautions are not taken. METHOD: Individuals with sternocleidomastoid muscle activity of less than 30 µV in cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing and an asymmetry ratio of more than 0.35 were excluded. In our study, individuals were divided into different groups according to sternocleidomastoid muscle asymetry. RESULTS: A total of 53 individuals were included in the study. Intergroup comparisons were made to determine the effect of electromyogram scaling and filter use on amplitude asymmetry ratio according to sternocleidomastoid muscle asymmetry. CONCLUSION: Keeping the sternocleidomastoid muscle asymmetry not exceeding 10 µV maximises the reliability of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. As a result of our study, it can be concluded that in clinical applications the asymmetry should not exceed 20 µV.
