TY - JOUR
T1 - Tinnitus in the side with better hearing
AU - Lee, Ho Yun
AU - Kim, Su Jin
AU - Chang, Dong Sik
AU - Shin, Sun Ae
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - Objectives: We aimed to confirm the characteristics of patients with tinnitus in the better-hearing side. Materials and methods: Among the 778 patients who visited the tinnitus clinic complaining of unilateral tinnitus at a local university hospital between March 2014 and December 2017, we recruited 62 patients who showed tinnitus in the better-hearing side on pure-tone audiometry. The mean hearing threshold was calculated using the arithmetic mean of the pure tone thresholds at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz. In addition, patients' medical history, tinnitus questionnaires, and other audiologic test results were thoroughly analyzed together for diagnosis. Results: Fluctuating hearing loss without vertigo or Ménière's disease were the most common etiologies (n = 16, 25.8%), followed by high-frequency hearing loss (n = 13, 21.0%), sudden idiopathic hearing loss (n = 6, 9.7%), and presbycusis (n = 6, 9.7%). Somatosensory tinnitus was also observed in seven patients. Neck pain was associated with tinnitus in five patients (8.1%), and two other patients (3.2%) experienced temporomandibular disorder in the same side as the tinnitus. Conclusion: Tinnitus was associated with deterioration of hearing even when it occurred in the better-hearing side. Among the possible etiologies, fluctuating hearing loss in the tinnitus side was the most common audiologic finding. Assessment of hearing level at each frequency was more effective in detecting high-frequency hearing loss rather than the use of the mean hearing level. In addition, somatosensory tinnitus should not be ignored.
AB - Objectives: We aimed to confirm the characteristics of patients with tinnitus in the better-hearing side. Materials and methods: Among the 778 patients who visited the tinnitus clinic complaining of unilateral tinnitus at a local university hospital between March 2014 and December 2017, we recruited 62 patients who showed tinnitus in the better-hearing side on pure-tone audiometry. The mean hearing threshold was calculated using the arithmetic mean of the pure tone thresholds at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz. In addition, patients' medical history, tinnitus questionnaires, and other audiologic test results were thoroughly analyzed together for diagnosis. Results: Fluctuating hearing loss without vertigo or Ménière's disease were the most common etiologies (n = 16, 25.8%), followed by high-frequency hearing loss (n = 13, 21.0%), sudden idiopathic hearing loss (n = 6, 9.7%), and presbycusis (n = 6, 9.7%). Somatosensory tinnitus was also observed in seven patients. Neck pain was associated with tinnitus in five patients (8.1%), and two other patients (3.2%) experienced temporomandibular disorder in the same side as the tinnitus. Conclusion: Tinnitus was associated with deterioration of hearing even when it occurred in the better-hearing side. Among the possible etiologies, fluctuating hearing loss in the tinnitus side was the most common audiologic finding. Assessment of hearing level at each frequency was more effective in detecting high-frequency hearing loss rather than the use of the mean hearing level. In addition, somatosensory tinnitus should not be ignored.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061798148&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.02.009
DO - 10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.02.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 30799211
AN - SCOPUS:85061798148
SN - 0196-0709
VL - 40
SP - 400
EP - 403
JO - American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
JF - American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
IS - 3
ER -