Article
Otosclerosis and tinnitus – effect of the laser-assisted stapedotomy on preoperative cases of tinnitus
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Authors
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Florian Bast
- Helios Klinikum Bad Saarow, Klinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenheilkunde, Kopf- und Halschirurgie/Plastische Operationen, Bad Saarow, Germany
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Birgit Mazurek
- Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charité Campus Mitte, Tinnituszentrum, Berlin, Germany
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Thomas Schrom
- Helios Klinikum Bad Saarow, Klinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenheilkunde, Kopf- und Halschirurgie/Plastische Operationen, Bad Saarow, Germany
| Published: | July 6, 2010 |
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Outline
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Background: According to studies on the topic, between 40–80% of otosclerosis patients suffering from hearing loss also suffer from tinnitus on the effected side. For a lot of these patients tinnitus represents a handicap that is just as debilitating as the hearing loss itself. The major goal of the surgical treatment of the otosclerosis is a significant improvement in hearing loss. However a positive side effect is that there are also frequent reports of reduced tinnitus after surgery.
Patients and methods: All patients that underwent laser-assisted stapedotomy between 2004 and 2008 were included in the study. Retrospectively, the tinnitus questionnaire as compiled by Goebel and Hiller was sent to the patients. 34 of 54 patients replied (13 male and 21 female with an average age of 42.9 years). The pre- and postoperative cases of tinnitus were divided into compensated and non-compensated tinnitus. In addition the subclasses emotional and cognitive burden, penetrance of the tinnitus and somatic ailments due to the tinnitus were evaluated.
Results and Conclusions: Over 90% of the patients surveyed suffered from tinnitus pre operation. The tinnitus disappeared or improved in over 50% of the cases after laser-assisted stapedotomy. In addition, the surveyed subclasses also improved appreciably post surgery.
