Tinnitus: clinical and diagnostic features in patients with sensorineural hearing loss and in the absence of hearing loss

Neurological, otolaryngological, audio and neurophysiological (trigeminal and acoustic evoked potentials) examinations of 100 patients with complaints about noise in the ears or in the head were performed. The main group of patients consisted of 100 patients with complaints of tinnitus or in the head (69 women and 31 men; average age – 48.1 ± 9.3 years). The exclusion criteria were diseases of the outer and middle ear, organic pathology of the nervous system (tumors, postponed ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, consequences of severe traumatic brain injury), mental disorders, objective tinnitus, and dysfunction of the auditory tube. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers matched by sex and age with the main group of subjects (9 men and 11 women; average age – 46.8 ± 10.2 years). In 45% of cases found sensorineural hearing loss. These patients have a longer duration of illness (more than 12 months), compared to patients without impaired hearing (55% – up to 3 months). The latter observed high personal and reactive anxiety in their nose and throat pathology. The results of the study showed involvement of the auditory analyzer and trigeminal system in the pathogenesis of tinnitus, depending on the duration of the disease. 

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