Prevalence and severity of tinnitus in Polish otosclerosis patients qualified for stapes surgery

Abstract

Purpose To assess the prevalence and severity of tinnitus among a group of Polish patients with otosclerosis who qualified for stapes surgery. A secondary objective was to gauge the relationship between tinnitus severity and hearing thresholds. Methods Based on the eligibility criteria, 460 adults with otosclerosis (236 women, 134 men) were included in the study. The Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) was used to assess tinnitus severity. Hearing thresholds for air and bone conduction were established using clinical pure-tone audiometry in a soundproof cabin. Results Based on the medical interview, tinnitus was the first symptom of otosclerosis in 35% of the participants and 65% of all patients with otosclerosis experienced clinically significant, chronic tinnitus before stapes surgery. For 59% of patients, tinnitus was a significant or severe problem. The degree of hearing loss seemed to be marginally related to the severity of tinnitus reported by the patient. Conclusions Tinnitus is a common complaint among patients with otosclerosis, being a significant or severe problem for more than half of them. For this reason, it is worth considering in the future the implementation of standardized questionnaires for the assessment of tinnitus severity as a routine procedure in the diagnostic process of patients with otosclerosis, as well as in the postoperative period, which will be the next stage of our study.

Audiometric Thresholds and Tinnitus Functional Index of Adult Patients with Tinnitus

“…There was a significant positive correlation between TFI grading and pure tone average as well as the tinnitus loudness match above hearing thresholds of the subjects. The findings of Dziendzie et al [26] also showed a positive correlation between TFI scores and the mean air conduction levels. The significant association of TFI score with TLM reported in our study may submit that a rise in tinnitus loudness might result into a worsened effect on the QoL of tinnitus patient.…”

“…This study included all consenting adults of age 18 years and above who presented to Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic with tinnitus symptom (as primary complaint) with or without associated hearing loss. Tinnitus was clinically diagnosed to be significant when it occurred for at least once a week and lasted for at least 5 minutes [26]. The duration of tinnitus was also classified into acute (< 3 months), subacute (3 months to less than 6months) and chronic (≥ 6 months) tinnitus according to the Tinnitus Clinical Practice Guideline [19] and the Multidisciplinary European Guideline for management of tinnitus [20].…”

Quality of life of tinnitus patients with and without hearing loss

“…4 Similar to the statistically significant association between the degree of hearing loss and TFI grading, Dziendzie et al found a positive correlation between the total TFI scores and average air conduction thresholds. 41 With an increase in hearing threshold, a larger tinnitus severity was observed. 41 The association between degree of hearing loss and the TFI grading found a statistically significant difference in this study.…”

“…41 With an increase in hearing threshold, a larger tinnitus severity was observed. 41 The association between degree of hearing loss and the TFI grading found a statistically significant difference in this study. Mazurek et al and Dias et al also concluded that the severity of the discomfort induced by tinnitus is a reflection of the degree of hearing impairment in a tinnitus patient.…”

Tinnitus: una revisión narrativa

“…Es un método terapéutico que consiste en la inserción y manipulación de agujas en el cuerpo. El tratamiento de los acúfenos mediante este ha sido ampliamente descrito en los libros 28,37,38 . La acupuntura china del cuero cabelludo es una técnica de acupuntura contemporánea que tiene solo 40 años de historia.…”