Interaural Comparison of Audiotory Brainstem Response in Unilateral Tinnitus Patients / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tinnitus is a common symptom in otolaryngology. While there have been some animal studies of unique findings in auditory brainstem response (ABR), there have not been much reports related to ABR waves and tinnitus. Recently, some human studies have been reported on the specific characteristics of ABR wave in tinnitus patients. In this study, we compared waveform characteristics of the tinnitus ear with those of non-tinnitus ear in unilateral tinnitus patients. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A retrospective review was carried out for 101 patients, who had been enrolled from January 2011 to April 2016 for the treatment of unilateral tinnitus. ABR parameters between the tinnitus ear and the normal ear were compared. The entire population was divided into two groups, a right tinnitus group and a left tinnitus group, and each group was compared interaurally. RESULTS: Latency delay and amplitude differences were observed in the ipsilesional wave III, but the ratio differences were not significant. The right tinnitus patient group showed an increased amplitude but no latency delay in the wave III and V. The left tinnitus patient group showed a latency delay in the wave I, III, and V and a decreased amplitude difference in the wave III. CONCLUSION: When the ABR waveform of unilateral tinnitus patients were compared interaurally, different ABR characteristics were observed between the right and left tinnitus. This may raise the possibility of a different pathophysiologic mechanism between the right and left ear.