[Bilateral semicircular canal pathology].

The authors report 12 cases of bilateral cupulolithiasis found in 142 subjects diagnosed as having benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. A case history was taken for these patients (4 males, 8 females; average age 28 years) and 10 reported a previous cranial trauma while the remainder did not refer any previous condition of note. All patients had normal cochleovestibular test results and showed no signs of concomitant internal and/or central pathologies. The Hallpike maneuver was able to evoke an intense symmetrical paroxysmal vertigo and this was often accompanied by neurovegetative phenomena while paroxysmal nystagmus always appeared. The patients were treated with a rehabilitative technique: the Brandt-Daroff was preferred as it is better tolerated. Within 15 days all patients had full remission of symptoms and at 6 months after treatment there have been no signs of recurrence. The conclusion is, thus, drawn that while the technical characteristics of the Sémont maneuver make it suitable only for use as rehabilitation in unilateral benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, this experience indicates that the Brandt-Daroff technique is better suited for the bilateral forms of this disorder.