Vestibular atelectasis: Decoding pressure and sound-induced nystagmus with bilateral vestibulopathy.

We present the case of a 27-year-old male who presented with vertigo when pressing the entrance of his right auditory meatus and exposing his right ear to loud noise. A diagnostic procedure revealed bilateral labyrinth weakness, which was confirmed by caloric and rotational testing. The ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials investigation demonstrated a significant weakness of the right utriculus, whereas the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were normal, indicating preservation of the saccular response. Radiologic studies did not show evidence of labyrinthine dehiscence. We suspect the newly described association of this clinical syndrome with the previously described histopathology of vestibular atelectasis accounts for these findings. Laryngoscope, 129:1685-1688, 2019.