Vestibular functions in patients with tinnitus only

Abstract

Objective: Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ears or head without any external or internal acoustic stimulation, and it is usually associated with hearing loss. In addition, it has been reported that there is a relationship between vestibular problems and sensorineural hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vestibular function in patients with tinnitus without hearing loss.

Methods: A total of 32 patients who complained only of tinnitus without hearing loss and 30 control subjects without tinnitus or hearing loss were included in this study. Oculomotor and caloric tests were performed on all subjects with videonystagmography. The tinnitus handicap inventory questionnaire, side and duration of tinnitus were recorded in all patients.

Results: The caloric test was abnormal in 13 of 32 (40.6%) patients in the tinnitus group and was normal in all of the control group. Abnormal caloric responses in patients with severe tinnitus were more frequent than in patients with mild or moderate tinnitus. There was a statistically significant difference in the optokinetic gain values between the tinnitus and control groups.

Conclusion: A relationship between tinnitus and abnormal caloric responses was determined. Tinnitus may be the first symptom of vestibular dysfunction.

Chinese abstract

目的：耳鸣是指在没有任何外部或内部声刺激的情况下, 对耳朵内或头内的声音的感知, 通常与听力损失有关。此外, 据报道前庭问题与感音神经性听力损失有一定关系。本研究旨在评估无听力损失的耳鸣患者的前庭功能。

方法：对32例仅主诉耳鸣而无听力损失的患者和30例无耳鸣或听力损失的对照组进行研究。对所有受试者用眼震摄影术进行动眼神经和热量测试。对所有患者均有耳鸣障碍量表、耳鸣侧方及持续时间的记录。

结果：耳鸣组32例（40.6%）中有13例热量测试异常, 对照组均正常。重度耳鸣患者的异常热反应比轻度或中度耳鸣患者更常见。耳鸣组和对照组的视动力增益值有统计学意义的差异。

结论：耳鸣与热反应异常有关。耳鸣可能是前庭功能障碍的第一个症状。

Keywords:

• Tinnitus
• videonystagmography
• caloric
• oculomotor
• tinnitus handicap inventory
• vestibular disorder

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. The authors are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.