ABSTRACT
We investigated the effects of tinnitus on postural responses using posturography. Thirty-three tinnitus patients (19 female and 14 male) ranging in age from 33 to 67 years (mean age, 53) were selected randomly at our outpatient clinic. Nobody complained of dizziness. Posturographic examination was given before and after 30-minute electrical stimulation. Items tested were envelope area, area (root mean square), total length, total length-area, mean amplitude of lateral body sway (mx), and anteroposterior sway (my). Those parameters did not improve in patients without tinnitus relief. Two postural measures (envelope area and mx) showed significant improvement in patients with tinnitus relief. These effects appeared only on positions involving restricted visual feedback. In a comparison of postural measures in patients with and without tinnitus relief, all parameters except total length and mx improved significantly in patients with eyes open. Our study showed that aside from the auditory system, tinnitus can affect balance, implying that tinnitus may be a factor in increasing unsteadiness in patients with tinnitus.
Subject(s)
Electric Stimulation Therapy , Posture , Tinnitus/physiopathology , Tinnitus/therapy , Adult , Aged , Feedback , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Vision, OcularABSTRACT
We analyzed relationships among tinnitus relief, dizziness, and results of vertical autocorrelation studies of head movement to investigate the effect of greater occipital nerve block on the sensory and motor system in 2 patients with abnormal head movement. Tinnitus improved in 14 (52%) of 28 tinnitus patients after occipital nerve block. The percentage of patients reporting tinnitus improvement (54%, or 7 patients) among 13 patients without a history of trauma was not significantly higher than among 12 patients with trauma (33% or 4 patients). However, tinnitus improvement in patients with dizziness but without trauma was more frequent than that reported by nontraumatic tinnitus patients without dizziness (p<.05). Vertical autocorrelation results while stepping in place were better in patients with tinnitus relief than in those not reporting tinnitus relief (p =.001). Dizziness improved in 8 of 13 patients (62%) with trauma, similar to improvement in 8 of 14 patients without trauma (57%). Improved word perception test results in the presence of noise suggested that improvement in tinnitus and dizziness after occipital nerve block was related to improved attention.
Subject(s)
Dizziness/therapy , Face/innervation , Nerve Block , Scalp/innervation , Tinnitus/therapy , Adult , Aged , Attention , Dizziness/etiology , Dizziness/physiopathology , Dizziness/psychology , Head/physiopathology , Humans , Middle Aged , Movement , Nervous System/physiopathology , Tinnitus/physiopathology , Tinnitus/psychology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Electrical promontory stimulation relieved tinnitus in 74 (57.4%) of 129 ears (112 patients). There was no significant difference in etiology of tinnitus, age, average audiogram, or tinnitus frequency between patients who responded to electrical stimulation and those who did not. Most patients who did not respond to the initial stimulation trial did not respond to the subsequent trials, suggesting that the initial response to treatment predicts the subsequent response. Patients who did not respond to repetitive treatment were supposed to be under severe stress.
Subject(s)
Ear, Inner/physiopathology , Tinnitus/physiopathology , Tinnitus/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Audiometry , Child , Electric Stimulation , Female , Hearing Disorders/etiology , Humans , Hyperacusis , Male , Middle Aged , Tinnitus/complicationsABSTRACT
The present study examines the effects of long-term electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve on the morphology of neurons in the cochlear nucleus in young, sensorineural deaf animals. Kittens, systemically deafened using kanamycin and ethacrynic acid, received bilateral cochlear implants and were stimulated unilaterally for periods of up to four months. After sacrifice, cross-sectional areas of neuron somata were measured with an image-analysis system and compared using nonparametric statistics. The areas of cell somata within the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) on the stimulated side were significantly larger than those of corresponding somata on the control, unstimulated side (P less than 0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference among dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) neurons. These results indicate that long-term electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve can at least partially negate some effects of early postnatal auditory deprivation at the level of the cochlear nucleus.
