3) Tinnitus Flashcards
Tinnitus is derived from the Latin word tinnire meaning “to ____”
ring
Because tinnitus is a real sound we can ____
Measure it
Define tinnitus
- Tinnitus is defined as the sensation of sound without any external acoustic sound source (i.e., phantom
perception of sound) - According to McFadden (1982), Tinnitus can be defined as
- A perception of sound (it must be heard)
- Involuntary (not produced intentionally)
- Originating in the head (not an externally produced sound).
What are different ways tinnitus can be described to sound like?
Tinnitus may sound like ringing, buzzing, roaring, whistling, humming, clinking, hissing, etc.
Tinnitus shows a prevalence of ____ in the adult population
10-15%
The incidence rate and the prevalence of tinnitus increase with age up to approximately ____ years, from 10-15% in the general adult population to ____% in older adults
70, 24-45%
In people with bothersome tinnitus, it may lead to what four things:
̶- Distress
̶- Difficulty concentrating
̶- Psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, insomnia)
̶- Interfere with normal life.
Does tinnitus severity or annoyance/intrusiveness change over time?
̶- In about 75% of individuals, tinnitus remains the same throughout their life.
̶- In about 10% of the individuals, the tinnitus gets worse.
̶- In about 15%, it improves over time.
̶- Most patients learn to adjust to it.
Explain the tinnitus intrusiveness three-level pyramid analogy
- Tinnitus affects people differently
- Based upon Dobie’s (2004) three-level pyramid analogy, the base of the pyramid contains nearly 80% of people with tinnitus who are not annoyed by tinnitus.
- The next higher level contains people whose tinnitus is bothersome, ranging from mild to severe (this is who we provide audiology services for)
- The tip of the pyramid also includes those individuals who are debilitated by their tinnitus
The prevalence of the following five symptoms was higher in those with bothersome tinnitus:
- Poor self-reported mental health
̶- Mood disorder
̶- A weak sense of community belonging
̶- High daily stress
̶- Poor quality sleep
People with hearing loss and tinnitus (%11) were twice as likely as those with hearing loss (5%) alone to use ____.
hearing aids
What is the most prevalent to least prevalent risk factor for tinnitus in canada?
This is why tinnitus is prevalent in young people
What are the prevalence of mental, emotional, and QoL characteristics for tinnitus in canada?
The occurrence of tinnitus is not directly related to ____ in the standard audiometric frequency range (250-8000 Hz)
SNHL
____% of people with tinnitus also have HL (but can also be independent)
85-95
However, ____ is mostly concomitant with SNHL
constant tinnitus
Five Known Risk Factors for both SNHL and Tinnitus:
- Head trauma
̶- Noise exposure
̶- Sudden hearing loss
̶- Ototoxic drugs (e.g.: Aminoglycosides, Platinum-based anticancer drugs (Cisplatin), Salicylates, Macrolide antibiotics)
̶- Aging
What are the 2 types of tinnitus?
1) subjective tinnitus
2) objective tinnitus
What is subjective tinnitus?
Audible only to the patient
What is objective tinnitus?
It is audible to others.
̶- It can be identified during a physical examination.
̶- It is often associated with otologic conditions
̶- It may be somatosound: a noise originating from other body organs such as in pulsatile tinnitus
Tinnitus can either be ____ or ____
Permanent (constant) or Intermittent
What is intermittent tinnitus?
Episodes of sound sensation lasting at least 5 minutes, twice a week
Etiology: five Idiopathic vs. Associated with Diseases or Otologic Conditions, e.g.:
̶- Meniere’s Disease
̶- Vestibular Schwannoma
̶- Unilateral sudden SNHL
̶- Semicircular canal dehiscence (autophony and/or pulsatile tinnitus)
̶- Benign intracranial hypertension (pulsatile tinnitus)
5 mechanisms are implicated in the pathogenesis of tinnitus including:
1) Maladaptive neuroplasticity or Neurophysiological Models of Tinnitus
2) Oxidative stress
3) Genetic disposition
4) Vascular dysfunction or blood vessel diseases (pulsatile tinnitus)
5) Otologic conditions
What is oxidative stress?
- Mostly observed subsequent to acoustic trauma.
̶- Excessive noise exposure, may cause Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) accumulation, which can lead to necrosis and apoptosis of the OHCs.
What is genetic disposition?
- Tinnitus heritability ranges from 0.21 to 0.68.
̶- With an estimate of 0.68 for bilateral tinnitus in men and 0.41 for women.
What are somatosensory integrations?
- The auditory system receives information from other sensory systems, especially vision and touch, at different levels: brainstem, midbrain, thalamus, and cortex.
Somatosensory tinnitus is often (4):
- Unilateral
- Intermittent
- Observed in people with normal hearing thresholds
- Some people report changes in their tinnitus loudness or pitch, commonly by head or neck movements
5 Possible reasons for somatosensory tinnitus:
- Trauma to the head or upper extremities
- Head and/or neck pain and myofascial dysfunction
- Fibromyalgia (widespread musculoskeletal pain)
- Temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) disorders/dysfunction
- Postural effects: long term sitting posture, improper posture
2 evaluation/physical examinations of somatosensory tinnitus?
1) Digitial pressure (trigger points)
2) Maneuvers (jaw, teeth, neck ,shoulders, eyes)
3 Treatments for somatosensory tinnitus?
- Relaxation therapy
- Manual therapy by physiotherapists
- Trigger point deactivation
What is Jastreboff’s Neurophysiological Model of Tinnitus?
- one of the oldest model of tinnitus (the only model explaining psychiatric disorders as it relates to tinnitus)
- tinnitus is triggering stress, anxiety, and/or depression and lead to higher level of severity of tinnitus
What are the 4 steps Jastreboff’s neurophysiologic model of tinnitus?
A) Generation of Abnormal Neural Activity
B) Interpretation of Abnormal Neural Activity
C) Perception and Evaluation in High CNS Regions
D) Sustained Activation of Non-Auditory Brain Systems (for Clinically Significant/bothersome Tinnitus)
Explain A) Generation of Abnormal Neural Activity
- Abnormal neural activity causing tinnitus is typically initiated in the periphery of the auditory system, potentially in the dorsal cochlear nucleus.
- This abnormal activity is treated as background sound, not initially evoking any reaction.
Explain B) Interpretation of Abnormal Neural Activity
- The abnormal neural activity is detected and processed in the subconscious part of the brain (brainstem).
- In ideal conditions, the abnormal activity is perceived in the auditory cortex without activating other brain systems.
Explain C) Perception and Evaluation in High CNS Regions
In the majority of cases, abnormal neural activity is treated as a neutral stimulus, leading to spontaneous habituation, and there is no activation of the limbic and autonomic nervous systems.
Explain D) Sustained Activation of Non-Auditory Brain Systems (for Clinically Significant/bothersome Tinnitus)
- Classification of tinnitus as an important, negative stimulus develops a self- enhanced loop leading to sustained activation of non-auditory systems such as the limbic and autonomic nervous systems.
- In this loop, the negative stimulus continuously triggers the autonomic nervous system, causing reactions to tinnitus.
What are the 5 things that can cause tinnitus?
1) Meniere’s Disease
2) Vestibular Schwannoma/Acoustic Neuroma
3) Unilateral Sudden SNHL
4) Middle Ear Myoclonus (MEM)
5) Other otologic conditions:
̶ - Semicircular canal dehiscence (SCD)
̶ - Benign Intracranial Hypertension (BIH)
What are 3 characteristics of tinnitus?
1) Tinnitus is secondary to the disease
2) Tinnitus may change after treatment.
3) It may be somatosound.
4 overview points of meniere’s disease:
̶- Its incidence varies widely, according to the ethnic and geographic background in the world, ranging from 3 to 513
per 100, 000 individuals
̶- Affects both biological sexes equally and often presents in the fourth age decade.
̶- Is characterized by recurrent vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, aural fullness, and loudness recruitment.
̶- Tinnitus can be bilateral in some cases.
3 Tinnitus Characteristics in Meniere’s Disease:
̶- Predominately low-pitched (125–250 Hz), with roaring, buzzing, or ocean-like sounds.
̶- Tinnitus severity and annoyance tend to be higher in Meniere’s disease compared to other otologic conditions.
̶- Increased tinnitus may be part of the prodrome to vertigo attacks
What are 3 treatment/management strategies for tinnitus in meniere’s disease?
1) Audiologic Management
2) Medical Management
3) Stress Management
Meniere’s disease - what is audiologic management?
- Audiologic Management: Sound therapy (ST) and amplification
̶- Amplification may be complex due to potential hearing fluctuations and loudness recruitment.