Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T10:33:52.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Neuro-otological findings in tinnitus patients with normal hearing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2009

C Morales-Garcia ,
G Quiroz ,
J M Matamala  and
C Tapia
C Morales-Garcia*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuro-Otology, University of Chile School of Medicine, Salvador Hospital, Santiago, Chile
G Quiroz
Affiliation:
Department of Neuro-Otology, University of Chile School of Medicine, Salvador Hospital, Santiago, Chile
J M Matamala
Affiliation:
Department of Neuro-Otology, University of Chile School of Medicine, Salvador Hospital, Santiago, Chile
C Tapia
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Chile School of Medicine, Salvador Hospital, Santiago, Chile
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Carlos Morales-Garcia, Luis Thayer Ojeda Norte 0115-Of 705, Santiago 9, Chile. Fax: (56 2) 232 2763 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

Tinnitus is usually associated with hearing loss, and patients with tinnitus and normal hearing are unusual. Neuro-otological findings have not previously been described in tinnitus patients with normal hearing.

Aim:

To analyse neuro-otological examination results from a group of tinnitus patients with normal hearing.

Materials and methods:

Seventeen normal-hearing tinnitus patients seen over a 10-year period were retrospectively evaluated. Their results were compared with those of a control group of 17 normal subjects without tinnitus.

Results:

The main neuro-otological finding in the tinnitus patients was caloric test abnormality: a unilateral canal paresis was present in 15 of the 17 patients. Caloric tests were normal in 15 of the 17 control subjects.

Conclusion:

We may infer from these results that tinnitus could be the only clinical manifestation of a cochlear – and presumably cochleo-vestibular – lesion, and that unilateral canal paresis may be the only abnormal finding on neuro-otological examination.

Keywords

TinnitusVestibular Function TestsHearing
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 124 , Issue 5 , May 2010 , pp. 474 - 476
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Eggermont, JJ. Tinnitus: neurobiological substrates. Drug Discov Today 2005;10:1283–90CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Dobie, RA. Depression and tinnitus. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2003;36:383–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Adams, PF, Hendershot, GE, Marano, MA. Current estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1996. Vital Health Stat 1999;10:1–203Google Scholar
4Axelsson, A, Sandh, A. Tinnitus in noise-induced hearing loss. Br J Audiol 1985;19:271–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Chung, DY, Gannon, RP, Mason, K. Factors affecting the prevalence of tinnitus. Audiology 1984;23:441–52CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Reed, GF. An audiometric study of two hundred cases of subjective tinnitus. Arch Otolaryngol 1960;71:74–84CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Barnea, G, Attias, J, Gold, S, Shahar, A. Tinnitus with normal hearing sensitivity: extended high-frequency audiometry and auditory nerve brain-stem-evoked responses. Audiology 1990;29:36–45CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Satar, B, Kapkin, O, Ozkaptan, Y. Evaluation of cochlear function in patients with normal hearing and tinnitus: a distortion product otoacoustic emission study. Kulak Burun Bogaz Ihtis Derg 2003;10:177–82Google ScholarPubMed
9Sanchez, TG. Tinnitus: a Correlation Study Between ABR and Electrophysiological and Tonal Thresholds [in Portuguese]. Sao Paulo: University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, 1997Google Scholar
10Nieschalk, M, Hustert, B, Stoll, W. Auditory reaction times in patients with chronic tinnitus with normal hearing. Am J Otol 1998;19:611–18Google ScholarPubMed
11Cai, Y, Tang, J, Li, X. Relationship between high frequency hearing threshold and tinnitus [in Chinese]. Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Ke Za Zhi 2004;18:8–11Google ScholarPubMed
12Ochi, K, Kinoshita, H, Kenmochi, M, Nishino, H, Ohashi, T. Zinc deficiency and tinnitus. Auris Nasus Larynx 2003;30:525–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Sanchez, TG, Medeiros, IRT, Levy, CPD, Ramalho, JRO, Bento, RF. Tinnitus in normally hearing patients: clinical aspects and repercussions. Rev Bras Otorrinolaringol 2005;71:427–31CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Fitzgerald, G, Hallpike, CS. Studies in human vestibular function: I. Observations on directional preponderance (Nystagmusbereitchäft) resulting from cerebral lesions. Brain 1942;65:115–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Morales-García, C, Hood, JD. Tone decay test in neuro-otological diagnosis. Arch Otolaryngol 1972;96:231–47CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Sörensen, H. Clinical application of continuous threshold recording. Acta Otolaryngol 1962;54:403–22CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Schuknecht, HF, Woellner, RC. Hearing losses following partial section of cochlear nerve. Laryngoscope 1953;63:441–65CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed