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Management of tinnitus in patients with vestibular schwannoma who underwent surgical resection

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate tinnitus and its management in patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) who underwent surgery, we investigate the effect of surgical approach or residual hearing on tinnitus severity and the effects of intervention for tinnitus including educational counseling, sound therapy using hearing aids (HAs), and medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and SSRIs).

Methods

Seventy-one subjects of VS patients who underwent surgery were included. Their tinnitus severity was evaluated using the Japanese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). The relationships between postoperative THI scores and surgery types or residual hearing levels were examined. We also examined longitudinal changes in THI scores and the efficacy of the intervention.

Results

Surgery approach, hearing preservation or hearing loss surgery, and residual hearing levels were not significantly related to the postoperative tinnitus severity. In 71 cases, 45 cases did not require any management for tinnitus. On the contrary, 26 patients had at least one episode of tinnitus distress (THI score was greater than or equal to 18). Educational counseling alone was found to be effective in 17 cases out of the 26 cases, and the remaining 9 cases required more intervention than educational counseling alone. We selected sound therapy with HA for 7 cases and administration of SSRI for 2 cases, which was found to be highly effective in 8 cases.

Conclusion

Based on the present study, we consider that appropriate management may be possible for tinnitus in the majority of VS patients who underwent surgery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Y. Ochi and M. Yamamura for technical assistance with entering questionnaire data.

Funding

The authors have no funding, financial relationships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 160-8582 Shinanomachi 35, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Mitsuru Kitamura, Naoki Oishi, Noriomi Suzuki, Takashi Kojima, Takanori Nishiyama, Masuru Noguchi, Makoto Hosoya & Kaoru Ogawa

Authors
  1. Mitsuru Kitamura
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  2. Naoki Oishi
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  3. Noriomi Suzuki
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  4. Takashi Kojima
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  5. Takanori Nishiyama
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  6. Masuru Noguchi
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  7. Makoto Hosoya
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  8. Kaoru Ogawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naoki Oishi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Informed consent

This study was conducted in accordance with the approval of the ethics committee of the Keio University School of Medicine (approval no. JPRN-UMIN000015613). We followed the Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki. Detail of this clinical research was displayed at a consultation room, and oral consent was collected from all participants. According to the Japan Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects, we were not necessarily required to obtain written informed consent. However, we notified the research subjects or made information public concerning the research, including the purpose of collection and utilization of research information, and that there is an opportunity to refuse participation or remove their data from the study after commencement. This information was also documented in each patient’s chart.

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Kitamura, M., Oishi, N., Suzuki, N. et al. Management of tinnitus in patients with vestibular schwannoma who underwent surgical resection. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 278, 4243–4249 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-06531-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-06531-5

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