[Galvanic stimulation of the vestibular system: indications and determination of normal values based on the frequency of the slow nystagmus phase].

The most important features of the galvanic test are the persistence of galvanic nystagmus after complete destruction of the labyrinth and its impairment as soon as the peripheral neurone is damaged. 25 normal subjects, 4 patients with an acoustic neuroma and 4 patients with Menière's disease were investigated. A difference in slow phase velocity between the right and left sides of more than 22% indicates a lesion of the vestibular nerve. In patients with an acoustic neuroma the difference lay between 59% and 100%. In Menière's disease the difference measured was between 1% and 15%.