Tinnitus in Al-Diwania city

Abstract

Introduction: Tinnitus is a sound perceived for more than five minutes at a time, in the absence of any external acoustical or electrical stimulation of the ear and not occurring immediately after exposure to loud noise. It is either subjective, audible only to the patient, or objective, audible to the examiner as well. It is a complex symptom, as it is usually associated with other neurotological complaints.Aim of study : To evaluate the distribution and the possible causes of tinnitus in Al-Diwania city.Method: This is a randomized analytic descriptive study, consisted of 200 patients. They were 110 males and 90 females . They had been assessed at the otolaryngology department in Al-Diwania teaching hospital, in Al-Diwania city in Iraq, during the period between April 2013 to September 2014, the age ranged from 10-80 years .We asked every patient about any sound in the ear or head lasting 5 minuts or longer, and whether it was unilateral or bilateral, followed by The clinical examination which included neurological, otorhinolaryngological assessment and audiological evaluation. In the patients with suspected neurological problem we did magnetic resonance imaging. For assessment of hearing loss we did pure tone audiometry and tympanometry.Results:most of our the patients ( 86 %) were above 40 years old, the most common causes were otological diseases (98%),while the non otological diseases found in ( 2%) in form of temporo-mandibular joint disorders . The most common otological causes were noise-induced hearing loss (include acoustic trauma) (30%) followed by presbyacusis (21%)and wax impaction (15%). The other otological causes were: otitis media with effusion(13.5%), followed by chronic otitis media(7.5%), sudden hearing loss(5%), acute otitis media (3.5%), meniere's disease (1.5%),and ototoxicity (1%.)Conclusion: The incidence of tinnitus increased with age,and the majority of the patients were above 40 years old. The most common causes were otological diseases. The most common otological causes were noise-induced hearing loss followed by presbyacusis and wax impaction.