Voxel-Based Morphometry and Subfield Volumetry Analysis Reveal Limbic System Involvement in Tinnitus.

Background And Purpose: Tinnitus is a condition in which individuals perceive sounds, such as ringing or buzzing, without any external source. Although the exact cause is not fully understood, recent studies have indicated the involvement of nonauditory brain structures, including the limbic system. We aimed to compare the volumes of specific brain structures between patients with tinnitus and controls.

Allergic rhinitis may attenuate the sympathovagal imbalances in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea: pilot study using a heart rate variability analysis.

Purpose: The effect of allergic rhinitis (AR) on autonomic nervous system in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains unclear. We utilized heart rate variability (HRV) analysis to assess cardiac autonomic activity in patients with OSA, comparing those with and without allergic rhinitis (AR).

Methods: We enrolled 182 patients who visited our sleep clinic complaining of habitual snoring or apnea during sleep.

Consensus Statements on the Definition, Classification, and Diagnostic Tests for Tinnitus: A Delphi Study Conducted by the Korean Tinnitus Study Group.

Background: Tinnitus is a bothersome condition associated with various symptoms. However, the mechanisms of tinnitus are still uncertain, and a standardized assessment of the diagnostic criteria for tinnitus is required. We aimed to reach a consensus on diagnosing tinnitus with professional experts by conducting a Delphi study with systematic review of the literature.

Management of frontal sinus trauma: a retrospective study of surgical interventions and complications.

Background: Frontal sinus injuries are relatively rare among facial bone traumas. Without proper treatment, they can lead to fatal intracranial complications, including meningitis or brain abscesses, as well as aesthetic and functional sequelae. The management of frontal sinus injuries remains controversial, with various treatment methods and outcomes being reported.

The 24-Hour Cardiac Autonomic Activity in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis.

Background: Definitive knowledge of the 24-hour cardiac autonomic activity in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) is lacking. Thus, we aimed to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV), which is used to measure cardiac autonomic activity by 24-hour Holter monitoring in patients with AR.

Methods: We enrolled 32 patients who visited our clinic and were diagnosed with AR.

Does Listening to Tinnitus Frequency-Filtered Music Relieve Tinnitus?

Background And Objectives: Tinnitus frequency-filtered music therapy aims to restore lateral inhibition to reverse tonotopic reorganization in the auditory cortex. Although the tinnitus-relieving effect of this therapy has been investigated, the results remain controversial. We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled double-blind study to determine the tinnitus-suppressing effect of tinnitus frequency-filtered music therapy.

The differences between daytime and nighttime heart rate variability may usefully predict the apnea-hypopnea index in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: The association between daytime/nighttime heart rate variability (HRV) and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) remains unclear. We sought a relationship between AHI and the daytime-to-nighttime HRV ratio as measured by 24-hour Holter monitoring in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 66 patients who visited our sleep clinic complaining of habitual snoring or sleep apnea.

Effect of sinus opacification on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: The association between rhinosinusitis and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains unclear. Here, we aimed to elucidate the association between sinus opacification and OSA severity.

Methods: Patients with snoring problems who visited our clinic from April 2018 to December 2020 were retrospectively enrolled.

Direct and Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Treatment of Tinnitus: A Scoping Review.

Recent animal research has shown that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with sound stimuli can induce neural plasticity in the auditory cortex in a controlled manner. VNS paired with tones excluding the tinnitus frequency eliminated physiological and behavioral characteristics of tinnitus in noise-exposed rats. Several clinical trials followed and explored the effectiveness of VNS paired with sound stimuli for alleviating tinnitus in human subjects.

What Makes Tinnitus Loud?

Introduction: Tinnitus loudness is a subjective measure, and it does not directly reflect either tinnitus severity or the impact on daily life. Nevertheless, loud tinnitus may be the most frequent clinical complaint of tinnitus patients. Factors contributing to the loudness of the phantom sound have rarely been studied.

Does the tinnitus pitch correlate with the frequency of hearing loss?

Background: The tonotopic model of tinnitus claims that the tinnitus pitch corresponds to the audiometric edge; the homeostatic model suggests that it falls within the hearing loss (HL) area. The existing evidence mostly supports the homeostatic model, but the relationship between the tinnitus pitch and the HL frequencies has been insufficiently explored.

Aims/objective: To investigate the association between the tinnitus pitch and the audiometric profile in the largest study population to date.

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial exploring the efficacy of frequency lowering hearing aids in patients with high-frequency hearing loss.

Objective: Whether linear frequency transposition (LFT) assists individuals with hearing difficulties has been studied for years, but no reliable comparison between LFT hearing aids (HAs) and conventional compression-type HAs has been conducted. Herein, we report on the first, relevant, double-blind, randomized controlled trial on this topic using a large sample size. We compared the efficacies of LFT HAs to those of compression-type HAs in patients with high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL); we also reviewed the literature.

Clinical Manifestations of Allergic Rhinitis by Age and Gender: A 12-Year Single-Center Study.

Objectives: Currently, epidemiological data on allergic rhinitis collected through the skin prick test are scarce. Moreover, the relationship of age and sex to allergic rhinitis is not comprehensively understood. This study aimed to characterize allergic rhinitis and the associated clinical manifestations by age and sex.

Tinnitus Suppression Effect of Hearing Aids in Patients With High-frequency Hearing Loss: A Randomized Double-blind Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Hearing aids (HAs) with frequency lowering have been used for high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL), but their effects on tinnitus relief have not been studied extensively. This randomized double-blind trial was performed to investigate and compare tinnitus suppression effects of conventional type HAs and frequency-lowering HAs in patients with HFHL.

Methods: A total of 114 patients were randomized into three groups: conventional HA using wide dynamic range compression, HA with frequency translation, and HA with linear frequency transposition.

Functional MRI evidence of the cortico-olivary efferent pathway during active auditory target processing in humans.

Auditory target detection has been explored by a number of studies, but none have demonstrated activity in the auditory subcortical centers evoked by the top-down attentional mechanism related to target detection in humans. We applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with sparse sampling to explore activity in the auditory centers, particularly in the subcortex, during an active auditory target detection task. Fourteen healthy subjects with normal hearing tapped the left index finger in response to target tonal stimuli presented among other (non-target) stimuli during continuous white noise stimulation.

Sequential versus Combination Treatment Using Steroids and Diuretics for Acute Low-Frequency Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Noninferiority Trial.

Objective: Acute low-frequency hearing loss (ALHL) is typically treated with combination therapy, including steroids and diuretics. To avoid unnecessary use of steroids we proposed a method of sequential administration using these two drugs, and compared the efficacy of our protocol with that of existing combination treatments.

Methods: A prospective, randomized, open-label, single-blind, noninferiority clinical trial was conducted to investigate whether the effectiveness of sequential treatment is noninferior to that of combination treatment for ALHL.

BOLD fMRI effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in patients with chronic tinnitus.

Objective: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation method used for treatment of epilepsy and depression. Transcutaneous VNS (tVNS) has been gaining popularity as a noninvasive alternative to VNS. Previous tVNS neuroimaging studies revealed brain (de)activation patterns that involved multiple areas implicated in tinnitus generation and perception.

Diagnostic Criteria for Somatosensory Tinnitus: A Delphi Process and Face-to-Face Meeting to Establish Consensus.

Since somatic or somatosensory tinnitus (ST) was first described as a subtype of subjective tinnitus, where altered somatosensory afference from the cervical spine or temporomandibular area causes or changes a patient's tinnitus perception, several studies in humans and animals have provided a neurophysiological explanation for this type of tinnitus. Due to a lack of unambiguous clinical tests, many authors and clinicians use their own criteria for diagnosing ST. This resulted in large differences in prevalence figures in different studies and limits the comparison of clinical trials on ST treatment.

Changes in the regional shape and volume of subcortical nuclei in patients with tinnitus comorbid with mild hearing loss.

Purpose: Tinnitus, the perception of sound without an external source, is a prevalent disease, but its underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Recent studies have suggested the involvement of subcortical nuclei in tinnitus generation. We investigated changes in the local shape and volume of subcortical nuclei in relation to tinnitus.

Epidemiology of Clinically Significant Tinnitus: A 10-Year Trend From Nationwide Health Claims Data in South Korea.

Objectives: Prevalence of tinnitus has been reported to vary according to the target population and definition of tinnitus. To improve the understanding of tinnitus, authors used the nation-wide health claim data to study the tinnitus in the entire population of South Korea.

Study Design: Retrospective big data review.

The Effect of Primary Levels and Frequencies on the Contralateral Suppression of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission.

Background And Objectives: Changes in distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) caused by contralateral suppression (CS) allow the function of the auditory efferent system to be evaluated. Parameters affording maximum CS are preferred in terms of clinical application. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of primary levels and frequencies on DPOAE-mediated CS.

Self-Administered Tinnitus Pitch Matching versus a Conventional Audiometric Procedure.

Objective: Obtaining an accurate tinnitus pitch match is an initial and critical requirement for tinnitus evaluation and treatment, particularly for applying tailor-made notched music training. We investigated whether computer-based self-administered tinnitus pitch matching (CSTPM) is comparable with a conventional audiometric procedure (CAP).

Methods: In total, 82 patients (mean age 45.

Clinical effect of intratympanic dexamethasone injection in acute unilateral tinnitus: A prospective, placebo-controlled, multicenter study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of intratympanic dexamethasone injection (ITDI) in acute tinnitus of presumed cochlear origin.

Study Design: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, multicenter study.

Methods: Between August 2013 and December 2015, 54 patients with unilateral tinnitus were enrolled at four different centers.

Optimization of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Using Functional MRI.

Objective/hypothesis: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established therapy for drug-resistant epilepsy, depression, and a number of other disorders. Transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (tVNS) has been considered as a non-invasive alternative. Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on the effects of tVNS used different stimulation parameters and locations in the ear, which makes it difficult to determine the optimal tVNS methodology.

Effects of scanner acoustic noise on intrinsic brain activity during auditory stimulation.

Introduction: Although the effects of scanner background noise (SBN) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been extensively investigated for the brain regions involved in auditory processing, its impact on other types of intrinsic brain activity has largely been neglected. The present study evaluated the influence of SBN on a number of intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) during auditory stimulation by comparing the results obtained using sparse temporal acquisition (STA) with those using continuous acquisition (CA).

Methods: Fourteen healthy subjects were presented with classical music pieces in a block paradigm during two sessions of STA and CA.