Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, Otalgia, and Hearing Loss

Comparative Efficacy of Different Therapeutic Interventions in Eustachian Tube Dysfunctions: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) affects a significant portion of the population, manifesting symptoms that impact the quality of life. Despite the prevalence of ETD, there remains a notable gap in comprehensive studies exploring the condition's dynamics within specific demographic contexts, particularly within Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of ETD across different demographic groups, to evaluate the efficacy of various treatment modalities, and to identify key predictors of treatment response in a Saudi Arabian cohort. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2022 to May 2023 in tertiary care hospitals in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. Participants included adults diagnosed with ETD, assessed through clinical symptoms, otoscopic examinations, audiometric evaluations, tympanometry, and the ETDQ-7 questionnaire. The study incorporated advanced diagnostics such as nasopharyngoscopy and pressure equalization tube function tests and involved 154 participants, revealing significant variations in ETD severity, with the 46-60 age group exhibiting the highest mean ETDQ-7 score of 4.85, and urban residents displaying lower severity scores compared to rural counterparts. Pharmacological interventions were most effective, achieving the highest symptom relief and audiological improvement rates of 87.78%. Multivariate regression highlighted age, geographic location, and treatment modality as key predictors of treatment efficacy, with notable interaction effects between climate conditions and treatment types influencing outcomes. The findings underscore the heterogeneity in ETD presentation and the differential efficacy of treatment modalities.

Investigation of the relationship between hyperacusis and auditory processing difficulties in individuals with normal hearing

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hyperacusis and auditory processing (listening) difficulties (APDiff) in normal-hearing young adults and to explore the relationship between these two conditions.

METHODS

A total of 333 participants aged 18-24 underwent pure-tone audiometry tests and completed the Khalfa Hyperacusis Questionnaire (KHQ) and the University of Cincinnati Auditory Processing Inventory (UCAPI) online.

RESULTS

Hyperacusis was identified in 26.43% of participants, and APDiff in 36.04%. A strong, positive correlation was found between KHQ and UCAPI scores (r = 0.603, p < 0.001). Logistic regression models indicated that hyperacusis significantly increased the likelihood of having APDiff (OR 7.688, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Despite the high prevalence of hyperacusis and APDiff in young adults, few seek help from audiology clinics. Our findings highlight a significant link between hyperacusis and APDiff, emphasizing the need for screening protocols for auditory processing skills in young adults due to these conditions' potential social and academic impacts.

Cluster and network analysis of non-headache symptoms in migraine patients reveals distinct subgroups based on onset age and vestibular-cochlear symptom interconnection

Objective

The present study endeavors to identify natural subgroups of migraine patients based on the patterns of non-headache symptoms, utilizing cluster analysis. Subsequently, network analysis was performed to estimate the structure of symptoms and explore the potential pathophysiology of these findings.

Method

A total of 475 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for migraine were surveyed face-to-face during the period of 2019 to 2022. The survey included collecting demographic and symptom data. Four different solutions were generated by the K-means for mixed large data (KAMILA) clustering algorithm, from which the final cluster solutions were selected based on a series of cluster metrics. Subsequently, we performed network analysis using Bayesian Gaussian graphical models (BGGM) to estimate the symptom structure across subgroups and conducted global and pairwise comparisons between structures.

Result

Cluster analysis identified two distinct patient groups, and the onset age of migraine proved to be an effective characteristic differentiating the two patient groups. Participants assigned to late-onset group showed a longer course of migraine, higher frequency of monthly headache attacks, and greater tendency toward medication overuse. In contrast, patients in early-onset group exhibited a higher frequency of nausea, vomiting, and phonophobia compared to their counterparts in the other group. The network analysis revealed a different symptom structure between the two groups globally, while the pairwise differences indicated an increasing connection between tinnitus and dizziness, and a decreasing connection between tinnitus and hearing loss in the early-onset group.

Conclusion

Utilizing clustering and network analysis, we have identified two distinct non-headache symptom structures of migraine patients with early-onset age and late-onset age. Our findings suggest that the vestibular-cochlear symptoms may differ in the context of different onset ages of migraine patients, which may contribute to a better understanding of the pathology of vestibular-cochlear symptoms in migraine.

Chronic pulsatile tinnitus and continuous vertigo due to very delayed diagnosis of single slow-flow dural arteriovenous

Tinnitus and vertigo are classic symptoms of inner ear disease. Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) are a rare type of acquired intracranial vascular malformation whose symptoms mimic inner ear disease, but what distinguishes it from other tinnitus is the characteristic of DAVF is pulsatile and heartbeat-synchronous. We present a 58-year-old male with chronic left-sided pulsatile tinnitus (PT) for 30 years and continuous vertigo for 3 years that took numerous consultations to establish a diagnosis after the onset of symptoms. Delay in diagnosis is caused by normal magnetic resonance imaging and an unrecognized subtle mass in the left temporal region by time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) at the screening test. As we know, TOF-MRA could not provide a clear picture to establish a slow-flow DAVF. Cerebral angiography, a gold standard diagnostic, revealed a Borden/ Cognard Type I single slow-flow DAVF in the left temporal region. The patient was treated with superselective transarterial embolization. After 1 week of follow-up, the symptoms of vertigo and PT were completely resolved.

Clinical Features and Influencing Factors for the Prognosis of Patients With Sudden Deafness

Backgrounds

Studies on risk factors influencing the prognosis of patients with sudden onset deafness are lacking.

Methods

From March 2018 to March 2021, 500 patients, from the Tongde Hospital in Zhejiang Province, with sudden onset deafness were enrolled. We collected clinical information from the hospital medical records, including certain demographic characteristics, information related to sudden-onset deafness, and laboratory parameters. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine independent prognostic risk factors for patients with sudden deafness. Additionally, we also employed orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to analyze the data of these enrolled patients.

Results

The baseline clinical characteristics of the enrolled patients were analyzed. Based on their prognoses, the included patients were divided into the overall effective and ineffective groups. Between these two groups, the univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Age, type of hearing curve at the initial diagnosis, acute phase, and sudden deafness site were found to be independently associated with the prognoses of patients with sudden deafness (all P < 0.05). Through the OPLS-DA, the sudden deafness site was found to be an indicator with the highest predictive power.

Conclusions

Age, type of hearing curve at the initial diagnosis, acute phase, and sudden deafness site were all independently correlated with the prognoses of patients with sudden deafness and, therefore, need to be emphasized.

Ultrasound-Guided Occipital Nerve Block for Treatment of Atypical Occipital Neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia can occur secondary to injury to the occipital nerves or the C2 or C3 nerve roots. Symptoms of occipital neuralgia can include sudden and debilitating craniofacial pain, otalgia, neck pain, shoulder pain, vision changes, and tinnitus. We describe how an ultrasound-guided greater occipital nerve block substantially reduced symptoms associated with a middle-aged woman’s atypical presentation of occipital neuralgia, which was refractory to oral medications and other procedural interventions.