Head-shaking nystagmus: associations with canal paresis and hearing loss.

In 108 patients referred for caloric testing, head-shaking nystagmus (HSN) was noted in 37 electronystagmography (ENG) recordings. A canal paresis was found in 31 patients and a sensorineural or mixed hearing loss in one or both ears was found in 45 patients. Both HSN and canal paresis were insensitive predictors of either hearing loss or of each other. HSN was less sensitive as well as less specific than canal paresis for hearing loss. These data suggest that HSN is not as powerful a test as canal paresis in detecting lesions of the 8th nerve.