Peripheral Vestibular Responses to Sound

Abstract

As well as activating the cochlea, sound also activates some vestibular receptors and afferents. That is true for both air- and bone-conducted sound and this review briefly summarizes the neural evidence for vestibular activation by sound in mammals and considers the implications of this result. These neural results have been rapidly translated into clinical use and underpin a new clinical test of human vestibular function using sound as the test stimulus.