Acúfenos: Sección tratamiento , implante coclear en cofosis unilateral

Tinnitus and cochlear implants

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Roberto Bovo^{, a,} , Andrea Ciorba^a and Alessandro Martini^a

^a Department of Audiology, University of Ferrara, Arcispedale S. Anna, Corso Giovecca, 203, IT - 44100 Ferrara, Italy

Available online 1 July 2010.

Abstract

Objective

Several published studies seem to confirm the clinical observation that cochlear implants (CI) have a suppressive effect on tinnitus in most CI users. The aim of this paper is to present our personal experiences on tinnitus improvement after cochlear implantation.

Methods

Before surgery, 51 post-lingually profoundly deaf adults, who underwent cochlear implantation between 2005 and 2007, filled out a questionnaire reporting tinnitus characteristics and the Italian version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-I).

Moreover, they were asked to scale tinnitus loudness and annoyance.

Six months after implant activation, patients repeated the same evaluations.

Scores were statistically analysed by means of a Wilcoxon signed ranks test on the hypothesis that a CI could change the tinnitus magnitude and/or its annoyance.

Results

In our series of 36 patients, 36.10% reported total loudness suppression and another 41.6% reported a reduction. Annoyance scores reduced in 75% of patients. THI reduced in 72.2% of patients.

Conclusion

Tinnitus reduction after CI may manifest as several mechanisms, such as habituation, acoustic masking, direct electrical nerve stimulation and cortical reorganization.

Nevertheless, it is our opinion that data on CI benefits on tinnitus should be interpreted with caution and it seems reasonable to admit that further data is still necessary before considering CI as a treatment of tinnitus especially in unilateral deafness.

Keywords: Tinnitus; Cochlear implant; Hearing loss

Table 1. Tinnitus assessment questionnaire.

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Table 2. Overview of the CI population.

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Table 3. Comparison of pre-implantation and post-implantation tinnitus loudness, annoyance and THI for the group of 36 patients.

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Table 4. Scores of loudness, annoyance and THI, pre- and post-implant for each of the 36 tinnitus suffering patients.

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Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0532 237669; fax: +39 0532 236887.

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Fuente Auris Nasus Larynx
Volume 38, Issue 1, February 2011, Pages 14-20