Electroneuronography - Background

Background

In the human body there are twelve pairs of cranial nerves. Audiologists generally focus their expertise on the seventh and eighth nerves, which are known as the facial nerve and vestibulocochlear nerve, respectively. Electroneuronography is typically concerned with the amount of degradation in the facial nerves, each of which consists of thousands of fibers. Motor and sensory fibers are typically found in a 2:1 ratio, and it has been proposed that only half of the motor units need to be functional for normal nerve conduction to take place. The facial nerves originate in the brainstem, cross through the auditory canal, exit the skull at the stylomastoid foramen, and terminate face in 2 main branches on each side of the face. These control muscle contractions and facial expressions.

Facial nerve paralysis can impact a several aspects of a person’s life, ranging from emotional or psychological effects to the actual physical limitations themselves. People who have been affected by such conditions often have difficulty speaking, drinking, eating, and showing the simplest of facial expressions. All of these combine to limit socialization and active involvement in the public domain. The proper assessment of facial nerve integrity is, therefore, vital to the detection and treatment of such disorders. Electroneuronography is used as a basis for a physician’s course of action in managing disease. A doctor may opt for continued observation of the patient following initial testing, or they may recommend surgery to deal with the damage.

Facial nerve disorders may stem from a myriad of contributing factors: Bell’s palsy, injury resulting from surgical error, trauma to the temporal bone, otitis media, multiple sclerosis, mumps, chicken pox, and other conditions.