Neuro-otological findings in tinnitus patients with normal hearing

作者：Morales Garcia C^*; Quiroz G; Matamala J M; Tapia C

来源：Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 2010, 124(5): 474-476.

DOI：10.1017/S0022215109992404

• Tinnitus
• Vestibular Function Tests
• Hearing

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.

• 出版日期2010-5