Observations on the Tullio phenomenon

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Abstract
Vestibular responses (vertigo, nystagmus-like eye movements) to acoustic stimuli are known as the “Tullio phenomenon”. Detailed electro-oculographic analysis of this reaction, as observed in a 30-year-old patient, revealed the following: a maximum amplitude of eye movement (mainly vertical) was achieved by sine wave bursts of high intensity, a frequency of 500 to 1000 Hz and a duration of 100 ms. The ocular deviation was composed of a fast initial component, followed by a slower resetting movement that was often divided into two parts of different velocities. At longer stimulus durations (more than 100 ms) the electro-oculagram showed a fractionation of the eye deviation, terminating in an “off-response”. Various positions of the patient's head influenced the direction of the eye motion. The possibility that the Tullio phenomenon may be due to an abnormal excitation of the statolith organs is discussed.