Cross-sectional screening for inflammation in tinnitus with near-normal hearing.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external stimulus. Recently, inflammation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of tinnitus. In tinnitus animal models, cytokine levels are increased throughout the whole auditory pathway, and microglia and astrocytes are activated.

Sound Measurements in Pulsatile Tinnitus: A Review in 171 Patients.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic application of external ear canal sound measurements in pulsatile tinnitus (PT).

Study Design: Retrospective chart review on a prospective series of sound measurements.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Hyperacusis in Tinnitus Individuals Is Associated with Smaller Gray Matter Volumes in the Supplementary Motor Area Regardless of Hearing Levels.

Recent evidence suggests a connection between hyperacusis and the motor system of the brain. For instance, our recent study reported that hyperacusis in participants with tinnitus and hearing loss is associated with smaller gray matter volumes in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Given that hearing loss can affect gray matter changes in tinnitus, this study aimed to determine if the changes reported in our previous findings of smaller SMA gray matter volumes in hyperacusis persist in the absence of hearing loss.

Sound-Evoked Neural Activity in Normal-Hearing Tinnitus: Effects of Frequency and Stimulated Ear Side.

Tinnitus is a common phantom auditory percept believed to be related to plastic changes in the brain due to hearing loss. However, tinnitus can also occur in the absence of any clinical hearing loss. In this case, since there is no hearing loss, the mechanisms that drive plastic changes remain largely enigmatic.

Tinnitus: an underreported condition following microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm.

Purpose: While hearing loss is a well-known condition following microvascular decompression (MVD) for hemifacial spasm (HFS), tinnitus is an underreported one. This study aims to identify prevalence, characteristics, severity, and predictors of tinnitus following MVD for HFS.

Methods: A single-center cohort of 55 HFS patients completed a questionnaire approximately 5 years following MVD.

Otoacoustic emissions in African mole-rats.

African mole-rats display highly derived hearing that is characterized by low sensitivity and a narrow auditory range restricted to low frequencies < 10 kHz. Recently, it has been suggested that two species of these rodents do not exhibit distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), which was interpreted as evidence for a lack of cochlear amplification. If true, this would make them unique among mammals.

Performance of ear canal sound measurements in detecting dural arteriovenous fistulas.

Objective: Patients with pulsatile tinnitus (PT) are often referred for digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to exclude cranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF). Because DSA is not without risk, the authors studied the sensitivity and specificity of an automated detection algorithm that analyses external ear canal sound measurements to evaluate the presence of DAVF in PT patients.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2021, external ear canal sound measurements of 72 PT patients were collected prospectively at our tertiary tinnitus clinic preceding referral of these patients to the neurosurgical department for counseling about DSA.

The effect of preoperative oral nutritional supplementation on surgical site infections among adult patients undergoing elective surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Mixed findings are reported on the effect of oral nutritional supplements in reducing Surgical Site Infections (SSIs).

Material And Methods: PubMED, EMBASE and Cochrane were searched. Studies from inception to July 2022 were included if they involved adults undergoing elective surgery and compared preoperative macronutrient oral nutritional supplements to placebo/standard diet.

Hyperacusis is associated with smaller gray matter volumes in the supplementary motor area.

Hyperacusis is a disorder in loudness perception characterized by increased sensitivity to ordinary environmental sounds and associated with otologic conditions, including hearing loss and tinnitus (the phantom perception of sound) as well as neurologic and neuropsychiatric conditions. Hyperacusis is believed to arise centrally in the brain; however, the underlying causes are unknown. To gain insight into differences in brain morphology associated with hyperacusis, we undertook a retrospective case-control study comparing whole-brain gray matter morphology in participants with sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus who either scored above or below the threshold for hyperacusis based on a standard questionnaire.

Hallucinations in Hearing Impairment: How Informed Are Clinicians?

Background And Hypothesis: Patients with hearing impairment (HI) may experience hearing sounds without external sources, ranging from random meaningless noises (tinnitus) to music and other auditory hallucinations (AHs) with meaningful qualities. To ensure appropriate assessment and management, clinicians need to be aware of these phenomena. However, sensory impairment studies have shown that such clinical awareness is low.

Effects of Physical Interventions on Subjective Tinnitus, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Increasingly, patients suffering from subjective tinnitus seek help from physical therapists. Numerous randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have investigated the effect of physical interventions commonly used in physical therapy practice on subjective tinnitus. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to analyse the effects of physical interventions on tinnitus loudness, tinnitus annoyance, and scores on the Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI).

Comparison between two self-guided tinnitus pitch matching methods.

Introduction: Tinnitus pitch matching is a procedure by which the frequency of an external sound is manipulated in such a way that its pitch matches the one of the tinnitus. The correct measure of the tinnitus pitch plays an important role in the effectiveness of any sound-based therapies. To date, this assessment is difficult due to the subjective nature of tinnitus.

Performance of an Automated Detection Algorithm to Assess Objective Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Objectives: In this paper we describe an automated detection algorithm that objectively detects pulsatile tinnitus (PT) and investigate its performance.

Design: Sound measurements were made with a sensitive microphone placed in the outer ear canal in 36 PT-patients referred to our tertiary clinic, along with a registration of the heart rate. A novel algorithm expressed the coherence between the recorded sound and heart rate as a pulsatility index.

A Combined Image- and Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis of Whole-Brain Voxel-Based Morphometry Studies Investigating Subjective Tinnitus.

Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies investigating tinnitus have reported structural differences in a variety of spatially distinct gray matter regions. However, the results have been highly inconsistent and sometimes contradictory. In the current study, we conducted a combined image- and coordinate-based meta-analysis of VBM studies investigating tinnitus to identify robust gray matter differences associated with tinnitus, as well as examine the possible effects of hearing loss on the outcome of the meta-analysis.

Cerebellar Gray Matter Volume in Tinnitus.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external source. The flocculus (FL) and paraflocculus (PFL), which are small lobules of the cerebellum, have recently been implicated in its pathophysiology. In a previous study, the volume of the (P)FL-complex correlated with tinnitus severity in patients that had undergone cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumor removal.

Carbamazepine induces upward frequency shifts of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions.

In three subjects, we measured spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) when they were using carbamazepine (CBZ), and compared this to the SOAE measurement when they were not using CBZ. We observed 14 SOAEs showing a consistent upward shift of center frequency, related to CBZ intake. On average, the magnitude of the frequency shift increased with increasing frequency.

Relationship between irregularities in spontaneous otoacoustic emissions suppression and psychophysical tuning curves.

The suppression of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) allows the objective evaluation of cochlear frequency selectivity by determining the suppression tuning curve (STC). Interestingly, some STCs have additional sidelobes at the high frequency flank, which are thought to result from interaction between the probe tone and the cochlear standing wave corresponding to the SOAE being suppressed. Sidelobes are often in regions of other neighboring SOAEs but can also occur in the absence of any other SOAE.

The Role of Inflammation in Tinnitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Subjective tinnitus is the perception of sound without the presence of an external source. Increasing evidence suggests that tinnitus is associated with inflammation. In this systematic review, the role of inflammation in subjective tinnitus was studied.

Too Blind to See the Elephant? Why Neuroscientists Ought to Be Interested in Tinnitus.

A curative therapy for tinnitus currently does not exist. One may actually exist but cannot currently be causally linked to tinnitus due to the lack of consistency of concepts about the neural correlate of tinnitus. Depending on predictions, these concepts would require either a suppression or enhancement of brain activity or an increase in inhibition or disinhibition.

A retrospective cross-sectional study on tinnitus prevalence and disease associations in the Dutch population-based cohort Lifelines.

Tinnitus is a highly prevalent disorder with heterogenous presentation and limited treatment options. Better understanding of its prevalence and disease and lifestyle risk factor associations in the general population is necessary to identify the underlying mechanisms. To this end, we quantified the prevalence of tinnitus and identified disease and lifestyle risk factors associated with tinnitus within a general population cohort.

Validation of a Dutch version of the Tinnitus Functional Index in a tertiary referral tinnitus clinic.

Introduction: Tinnitus is a condition with a subjective nature that requires self-report questionnaires for its assessment. Aspects such as quality of life, sleep or intrusiveness have been addressed by multiple tinnitus questionnaires, but the high responsiveness to treatment effects of the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) makes this questionnaire part of the standard practice in tinnitus screening. To date, the TFI has been translated to more than 20 languages and used in more than 22 countries.

Frequency drift in MR spectroscopy at 3T.

Purpose: Heating of gradient coils and passive shim components is a common cause of instability in the B field, especially when gradient intensive sequences are used. The aim of the study was to set a benchmark for typical drift encountered during MR spectroscopy (MRS) to assess the need for real-time field-frequency locking on MRI scanners by comparing field drift data from a large number of sites.

Method: A standardized protocol was developed for 80 participating sites using 99 3T MR scanners from 3 major vendors.

Investigating the relation between minimum masking levels and hearing thresholds for tinnitus subtyping.

Heterogeneity of tinnitus imposes a challenge for its treatment. Identifying tinnitus subtypes might help to establish individualized diagnosis and therapies. The minimum masking level (MML) is a clinical tool defined as the minimum intensity of a masking sound required to cover tinnitus.