Definition of Vestibulocochlear nerve

Vestibulocochlear nerve: A nerve that is responsible for the sense of hearing and which is also pertinent to balance, to the body position sense.

Problems with the vestibulocochlear nerve may result in deafness, tinnitus (ringing or noise in the ears), dizziness, vertigo and vomiting.

The vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth cranial nerve. The 12 cranial nerves, the vestibulocochlear nerve included, emerge from or enter the skull (the cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column.