{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T08:46:33Z","timestamp":1782463593761,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779753600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Audiology Research"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Pregnancy involves significant hormonal, cardiovascular, and physiological shifts that may potentially affect the vestibular system. The utricle and saccule, the two primary otolith organs, are responsible for detecting linear acceleration and maintaining equilibrium. This study aims to objectively evaluate the functional status of these organs throughout the three trimesters of pregnancy using Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs). Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 64 healthy primigravida women (mean age 29.4 \u00b1 2.3 years). Cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) tests were performed at three distinct time points: the first (8\u20139 weeks), second (20\u201321 weeks), and third (33\u201334 weeks) trimesters. Latencies (p13 and n23 for cVEMP; n10 and p15 for oVEMP) and peak-to-peak amplitudes were recorded and statistically compared across trimesters. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in cVEMP p13 and n23 latencies or amplitudes across the three trimesters (p &gt; 0.05). Similarly, oVEMP p15 latencies and amplitudes remained stable throughout the pregnancy (p = 0.43 and p = 0.95, respectively). While a slight numerical increase in certain latencies was observed in the third trimester, and the oVEMP n10 latency was found to be consistently prolonged compared to non-pregnant norms, these values remained stable between trimesters. The inter-aural asymmetry showed no significant deviations, indicating a balanced vestibular adaptation. Conclusions: The functional integrity of the saccule and utricle is preserved during a healthy pregnancy. Despite the dramatic increase in gestational hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, the otolith-dependent reflex pathways (vestibulocollic and vestibulo-ocular) remain resilient. These results provide a clinical baseline for evaluating vestibular symptoms in pregnant populations, suggesting that significant VEMP abnormalities should prompt investigation into underlying vestibular pathologies rather than being attributed to normal pregnancy changes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/audiolres16030080","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T13:28:21Z","timestamp":1779802101000},"page":"80","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP and oVEMP) in Pregnancy: A Clinical Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Isil","family":"Cakmak Karaer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Battalgazi, Malatya 44901, T\u00fcrkiye"},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Malatya Training and Research Hospital, Hastane Street No: 44, Battalgazi, Malatya 44623, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2183-7689","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erdinc","family":"Sar\u0131dogan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Inonu University, Battalgazi, Malatya 44280, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4840","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-31235-1","article-title":"First evidence of the link between internal and external structure of the human inner ear otolith system using 3D morphometric modeling","volume":"13","author":"Smith","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. 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