1/6. hearing loss after direct blunt neck trauma.OBJECTIVE: To report for the first time hearing impairment resulting from blunt neck trauma. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of clinical, pure tone, and speech audiometric findings. The first obtained within 3 months and the follow-up ones between 6 and 12 months after injury. Three representative examples are given. patients: Eighty-three patients (166 ears) who reported hearing impairment after blunt neck trauma. RESULTS: Twenty of the 166 ears (12%) had normal hearing and 137 ears (81.3%) showed an acoustic trauma-like hearing impairment. Eight ears (4.8%) had a hearing loss of at least 30 dB in the speech frequencies (500-2,000 Hz) and two ears (1.2%) had additional impairment in the higher frequencies. Only one ear (0.8%) had a conductive hearing loss. No speech discrimination score was poorer than 80%. Forty-six subjects (55.4%) reported tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Blunt neck trauma, like whiplash injury, may cause objectively measurable hearing impairment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/6. An absence of tinnitus.We present and discuss a case of lifelong tinnitus in an otolaryngologist (L.D.L.) followed by complete elimination of the tinnitus as a result of a cerebral vascular accident located in the left corona radiata. Pre- and post-CVA audiograms showed no change in hearing. A magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain documents the size and location of the lesion. Discussion looks at recent studies of the central nervous system showing evidence of increased activity related to tinnitus. Our assessment of the lesion and the resulting loss of tinnitus can be explained by the neurophysiological model of tinnitus, which includes plasticity of the central nervous system.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 9keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/6. A cochlear vascular anomaly in a patient with hearing loss and tinnitus.An unusual blood vessel in the cochlea of a patient is reported. The blood vessel derives from the osseous lamina spiralis and crosses straight through the scala tympani toward the lateral wall of the perilymphatic duct. In its course a branch derives from this vessel toward the other spiral vessel. In the region of this abberrant vessel a complete hair-cell loss is present. A high tone perceptive loss with a relative dip and tinnitus was found in the same ear during life. The possible cause and effects of this abberrant vessel are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/6. neomycin-induced perception deafness following bladder irrigation in patients with end-stage renal disease.OBJECTIVE: To report a serious side-effect of intravesical instillations of neomycin in patients with end-stage renal disease. patients AND methods: Three patients (two men and a woman, aged 51.71 and 54 respectively) with end-stage renal disease who had undergone bladder irrigation with neomycin sulphate solution suffered complete irreversible deafness, which was assessed by audiogram. RESULTS: All three patients developed complete perception deafness after 3, 4 and 10 months, with characteristic changes in the audiogram. The severe progressive hearing loss was maximal in the high-frequency range. A high-pitched tinnitus was the first sign of impending hearing difficulty and two patients developed a spontaneous nystagmus. CONCLUSION: In view of the doubtful efficacy and, most importantly, the risk of severe disabling side-effects such as ototoxicity, we recommend the avoidance of intravesical instillation with neomycin whenever possible.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/6. Auditory perceptual and visual-spatial characteristics of gaze-evoked tinnitus.Auditory perceptual and visual-spatial characteristics of subjective tinnitus evoked by eye gaze were studied in two adult human subjects. This uncommon form of tinnitus occurred approximately 4-6 weeks following neurosurgery for gross total excision of space-occupying lesions of the cerebellopontine angle and hearing was lost in the operated ear. In both cases, the gaze-evoked tinnitus was characterized as being tonal in nature, with pitch and loudness percepts remaining constant as long as the same horizontal or vertical eye directions were maintained. tinnitus was absent when the eyes were in a neutral head-referenced position with subjects looking straight ahead. The results and implications of ophthalmological, standard and modified visual-field assessment, pure-tone audiometric assessment, spontaneous otoacoustic emission testing and detailed psychophysical assessment of pitch and loudness are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/6. Automobile airbag impulse noise: otologic symptoms in six patients.Automobile airbag safety systems have successfully reduced the number of occupant injuries from motor vehicle accidents. Unfortunately, airbags are also associated with some inherent risk, including a high-amplitude, short-duration noise from airbag deployment. A review of the available research in the automobile industry indicates that the peak amplitude of this noise may exceed 170 dB sound pressure level. Despite the increasingly wide application of airbags in automobiles, there have been no previous reports of airbag-related otologic injuries. We have encountered six patients with otologic symptoms that appear to be related to airbag impulse noise. Five of these patients have documented hearing loss, one patient reported persistent tinnitus, and two patients have significant dysequilibrium. Although permanent hearing loss from airbag noise appears to be rare, temporary threshold shifts are probably much more common. It is important, therefore, that the clinician be aware of the noise associated with airbag inflation and the possibility of acoustic trauma from these safety devices.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = tinnitus (Clic here for more details about this article) |