Clinic, Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Tinnitus

Introduction. Noise in the ears (NE, tinnitus) means pathological hearing impairments or sound phenomena that occur in the ear or in the head and is one of the most common symptoms of a variety of pathological conditions. The problem of the tinnitus is not fully understood, as it can be associated with a large number of factors that affect not only the organ of hearing but also other systems and organs. NE, according to various data, have 15.0-40.0% of the population, 25.0% of those with an NE, it complained the life and professional activity, and even causes self-isolation. Therefore, in many countries there are magazines devoted to the issue of ear noises, societies of patients with NE are created, specialized clinics work. Aim. Determine the etiologic, pathogenetic and clinical aspects of patients with the main complaint about the HS and the rational principles of diagnosis and treatment of pathological conditions accompanied by HS. Materials and methods. On the basis of the auditologic laboratory of the Otorhinolaryngology clinic and the Otorhinolaryngology polyclinic department of the Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital during 2008-2013, an expanded inspection of patients who were consulted on the problem of HS as the main or single complaint was conducted. Information was taken from patients with noises in the ears or in the head that lasted for more than a month (452 ​​cases). Among the patients, there were 231 men and 221 women, so, there was no reliable dependence of the incidence of NE on the gender. The age of the patients varied from 15 to 83 years, the average value was 46.9 years, most often were persons aged 40-59 years (226 – 50.0%). 168 patients were rural residents, 284 – lived in cities. Results. NE is one of the symptoms, sometimes the only one of the diseases of the middle and inner ears, the vessels of the brain or the central nervous system (CNS). In the majority of patients with NE, sensory or combined increase of hearing thresholds of insignificant degree is noted, more pronounced at high frequencies. The increase in hearing thresholds was most pronounced at frequencies that corresponded to the audiologic characteristics obtained with the help of tannithometry, which mainly showed high-frequency NE. Changes in short-wave auditory actuation potentials were most pronounced as a result of testing by tone signals that corresponded to the frequency of NE. Integrated etiopathogenetic treatment was effective in all the patients with NE. Conclusions. A comprehensive audiologic examination in the case of an NE is appropriate for the purpose of choosing a rational treatment. The method of non-medicated sedation by phototyping is quite effective in most patients, which gives grounds to consider its further promising development.