Neurofibromatosis type 2 – Symptoms

The symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) typically start during the late teens or early 20s, but they may develop at any age.

Most of the problems are caused by non-cancerous (benign) tumours growing in various parts of the body.

Ear problems

Most people with NF2 develop non-cancerous tumours along the nerves used by the brain to help with hearing and balance. The tumours are known as vestibular schwannomas and can cause problems such as:

The tumours tend to only cause problems in 1 ear at first, but both ears are often affected eventually.

Less common symptoms include vertigo – when it feels like you or everything around you is spinning – and feeling and being sick.

It’s likely the tumours will grow larger over time, eventually causing additional symptoms such as:

• numbness in parts of your face
• weakness of your tongue – this can cause slurred or unusual-sounding speech and difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• facial pain – although this is less common

Cataracts

About 2 in 3 people with NF2 develop cloudy patches in the lens of the eye (cataracts).

Cataracts can make a person’s vision blurred or misty. However, they’re usually mild in NF2 and rarely cause serious vision problems.

Cataracts are normally associated with old age, but they can develop in children and young adults with NF2.

Read more about childhood cataracts

Skin problems

Just over half of people with NF2 develop benign tumours on or underneath the surface of their skin. These are called schwannomas.

They often take the form of skin plaques: small, coloured, raised patches of skin, usually less than 2cm across.

Tumours that develop under the skin can grow to around the size of a golf ball and can be painful if they develop along a section of nerves.

Some people with NF2 may also develop a small number of coffee-coloured patches on their skin, called café au lait spots. But having lots of these spots is usually a sign of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

Peripheral neuropathy

Many people with NF2 will develop a condition called peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy can cause a wide range of symptoms, including:

• pins and needles in the affected body part
• numbness and a reduced ability to feel pain or temperature changes – particularly in your feet
• a burning pain – usually in the feet and legs, followed by the hands and arms as the neuropathy progresses
• muscle weakness

Read more about peripheral neuropathy

Brain problems

Around 1 in 2 people with NF2 develop 1 or more benign tumours inside their brain. These are called meningiomas.

Meningiomas may cause no noticeable problems. However, they can sometimes lead to an increase in pressure in and around the brain, causing symptoms such as:

The tumours can also disrupt certain brain functions. Depending on where they are, they may cause:

Spinal cord problems

Around 1 in 2 people with NF2 develop 1 or more benign tumours inside their spinal cord. These are called ependymomas.

Of those who develop ependymomas, about half will not have any noticeable symptoms. But those who do may experience:

• back pain
• muscle weakness
• unpleasant physical sensations in certain parts of the body – such as numbness, tingling, or a “crawling” sensation on the skin

Page last reviewed: 27 April 2021
Next review due: 27 April 2024

5 Symptoms Of Brain Tumors

In the medical world, some conditions are harder to spot and explain than others. Such is the case with brain tumors.

To date, little is known about what causes certain brain tumors to form. Nor do we fully understand why certain risk factors such as age increase a person’s chance of developing one.

Regardless of how or when a tumor forms, they represent a dangerous health issue for anyone who gets them.

“There’s no more serious diagnosis in all of human medicine than a brain tumor because it not only is a medical issue that has to be treated, but it actually affects the psyche, the soul of the entire personhood of a human being,” says Henry Ford neurosurgeon Steven Kalkanis, M. D.

Currently, there is no known way to reduce your risk of developing a brain tumor, but it is possible to remain alert and spot symptoms before a brain tumor becomes more severe.

Below, Dr. Kalkanis outlines five of the most common signs that indicate a brain tumor may be present.

1. Headaches that get worse. Everyone gets headaches from time to time, but if the pain in your head increases in frequency or intensity over time, it could be a sign of elevated pressure inside the skull, which could mean something is growing inside the brain. Headaches that lead to vomiting or seizure could also indicate a serious medical issue, but it’s important to remember that the vast majority of headaches DO NOT indicate the presence of a tumor.
2. Weakness, numbness, tingling or balance problems. Like headaches, many people experience episodes of weakness, numbness, or tingling. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Dr. Kalkanis says, those sensations are not indicative of a brain tumor. The problem arises if episodes become worse. A tumor in the brain might make it difficult to consistently accomplish simple movements like walking or holding certain objects in your hand. And depending on where the tumor is present, a brain tumor might also cause numbness in one side of the body or one limb.
3. Vision changes. Blurry vision, double vision and extreme sensitivity to light can all be signs of a tumor. Partial or complete loss of vision is caused by a tumor in the occipital lobe or temporal lobe of the cerebrum.
4. Seizures. Seizures can happen at random without any specific trigger. If someone is having a seizure, stay with them and allow the seizure to pass. Make sure they’re still breathing and don’t put anything in their mouth.
5. Disorientation or personality changes. When a tumor is present, your brain can’t function properly, which may lead to noticeable changes in a person’s demeanor. A calm person may start behaving more aggressively. Others may get confused about where they are or who they’re with.

Though brain tumors may appear relatively frequently in the news, it’s important to remember that they’re a rare condition. Bottom line: By and large, brain tumors are not an issue that most people will encounter throughout their lives. Nonetheless, knowing the signs can be helpful in getting the right care at the right time.

To learn more about brain tumors and how they’re treated, visit henryford.com/services/brain-tumors

Dr. Steven N. Kalkanis is a neurosurgeon with Henry Ford Health System. He serves as chair of the Henry Ford Department of Neurosurgery, CEO of the Henry Ford Medical Group and Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of Henry Ford Health System. He was also the founding medical director of the Henry Ford Cancer Institute. 

Anxiety Symptoms You Might Never Expect

Imagine, out of the blue you feel your brain spin 180 degrees at lightning speed as if fueled by an electrical current. This bizarre feeling isn’t lightheadedness, dizziness, or anything you’ve ever experienced. You panic and wonder, ‘Am I going crazy?’ Or worse, ‘Am I going to die?’ You try to brush it off when suddenly, it happens again.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five Americans will experience an anxiety disorder in a given year. What’s more, there are over 100 possible symptoms, many of which you’d never expect to be caused by anxiety. For that reason, when they occur, they often exacerbate anxiety because of the worry the symptoms cause.

UNUSUAL SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY

The following are some of the more bizarre symptoms of anxiety, though most are not uncommon. If you experience symptoms that persist, seek medical attention to rule out a medical cause since all the symptoms of anxiety can also be associated with various medical conditions.

Indigestion. Anxiety can cause temporary or even chronic indigestion. Burping, passing gas, diarrhea, and heartburn can all be symptoms of anxiety.

Phantom ringing. Tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ears, can be a sign of stress or anxiety and can be experienced in several ways. According to anxietycentre.com, you may hear buzzing, ringing, humming, whizzing, chirping, roaring, swooshing, or any number of other sounds.

Burning sensation. This unusual anxiety symptom can be felt on your skin, lips, tongue, and even in your eyes. It can feel like a sunburn despite no sunburn being present, a prickling sensation, or even shooting sparks.

Heart irregularities. Skipped heartbeats, palpitations, or a racing heart can all be symptoms of anxiety. What’s so troublesome is that it can be difficult to tell the difference between heart irregularities caused by anxiety versus a heart attack. When in doubt, seek medical treatment right away.

Physical numbness or tingling. These feelings can occur in your hands, feet, arms, legs, or face. It can also be felt as physical weakness.

Excessive yawning. During anxiety attacks, hyperventilation is a common response leading your body to feel it isn’t getting enough oxygen. As a result, you might experience frequent yawning.

Phantom smell. Phantosmia, which is an olfactory hallucination, sometimes occurs with anxiety. It can cause you to smell something that isn’t there, or rather, a neutral smell becomes unpleasant.

Brain shivers or zaps. Most often, this bizarre sensation is caused by antidepressants or withdrawal from them. However, sometimes it’s associated with anxiety. Brain shivers can range from mild to severe and feel different from person-to-person, though they usually last only a brief time. Brain shivers or zaps, explains anxietycentre.com, can feel like an electrical jolt or a shaking, vibration, or tremor in the brain,

Phantom vibrations. If you’ve ever felt your phone vibrate, only to discover it didn’t, it could be caused by attachment anxiety. This is a very real phenomenon, according to a study reported by University of Michigan in 2016.

Tremors. Numerous types of tremors can be caused by anxiety. In addition to shaking or trembling, other typical forms, according to calmclinic.com, include arm or leg spasms, cramping, or longer or slower shaking than usual.

Derealization. This is a feeling of not being in reality. Anxietybc.com says this can be experienced in several ways. You may feel disconnected from the world and people around you, sort of like being in a dream state. Your perception of space, time, and the size of things may be distorted. Everything might feel foggy or fuzzy or that you’re very ill or going crazy.

Globus With this anxiety symptom, it feels like a lump in your throat, or you might have difficulty swallowing. Some people also feel a tightness in their throat.
hystericus.

Eye problems. Blurred vision, dilated pupils, watery eyes, and shapes that float in front of the eyes can all be a result of anxiety.

Skin rashes. Stress can cause hives, itching, and rashes. If you already have rosacea or psoriasis, it can be aggravated by anxiety and stress.

Shooting pains. These can be experienced in several areas of your body including your face, abdomen, arms, and chest during episodes of anxiety.

Freezing hands and feet. Stress and anxiety can decrease your circulation. As a result, your hands and feet may feel icy.

HOW TO ALLEVIATE ANXIETY

Depending on whether you have an actual anxiety disorder or the severity of the symptoms, an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication may be the solution. But there are other things you can do as well to reduce anxiety and alleviate symptoms.

During periods of high stress, get plenty of rest. This will help keep anxiety under control and result in fewer or less severe symptoms.

Also, practice slow breathing. Alice Boyes Ph.D. in her article, “Breathing Techniques for Anxiety,” says the key is to focus only on breathing out. While concentrating on slowly, steadily, and gently breathing out, allow the tension to flow out of your body and relaxation to flow in.

Mindfulness meditation is another useful technique for reducing anxiety according to a growing body of research. You can start by meditating for just a few minutes each day and gradually increase it to longer periods. For complete instructions, visit https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-how-to-do-it/

Get some exercise. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy, hardcore workout. Even a 10-minute brisk walk can provide several hours of anxiety relief according to psychologists, says the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Finally, if your doctor has told you your symptoms are anxiety related, remind yourself of this when symptoms strike. Try not to worry about the symptoms, which only serves to exacerbate anxiety and cause the symptoms to persist.

Kimberly Blaker is a lifestyle and parenting freelance writer and blogger. You can visit her blog, The Young Gma’s Guide to Parenting, at www.theyounggma.com

Understanding The Scalp Tingling Sensations

Autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, causes a tingling sensation in your head and neck after triggers like repetitive movements or whispering. Most people describe the tingling as very relaxing, even pleasurable.

Scientists have only recently started studying ASMR, and there’s a lot they don’t know about it. Experts are still looking at whether ASMR might be a tool to help people with things like depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

How It Feels

People who write about the sensation of ASMR sometimes call it a “brain orgasm.”

The tingling it causes isn’t the same as that shivery feeling (also known as “chills”) you get from an emotional experience like hearing a beautiful piece of music. Experts say the difference between the two is where you have it.

“Chills” tend to happen all over, and at once. The tingling of ASMR starts in the head and neck, and it can sometimes move to your arms and legs. It may also happen in waves or pulses.

What Triggers It?

The pleasure sensation that happens with ASMR can crop up after certain:

• Sounds
• Sights
• Smells
• Textures

Everyone’s triggers are different. They tend to be quiet and repetitive movements and sounds. Common examples include:

• Hair brushing
• Folding towels
• Flipping magazine pages
• Whispering
• Rain
• Light tapping
• Crisp sounds, like crunchy leaves or biting into an apple
• Slow movements

You can also get it when someone is paying close attention to you, such as during a medical exam or a haircut.

ASMR as a Treatment Tool

The relaxed feeling you get from ASMR may help you sleep. In one study, scientists found that most people liked to watch videos of the noises and sounds that trigger their ASMR before they go to bed.

The same study looked at how ASMR changes your mood. Most people said triggering their ASMR helped them with symptoms of depression.

It’s only a temporary fix, though. The effect fades a few hours after the tingling sensation does.

Scientists don’t know why ASMR happens or if it can treat things like stress, insomnia, anxiety, panic disorders, or depression. In part, it’s because everyone who has ASMR feels the sensation differently.

Scientists hope to do more studies of the brain during ASMR to get more clues about it.

Buzzing in Ears – Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

The ear canal is lined with tiny hairs that sense movement and vibration conveyed to the brain as sound. Tinnitus occurs when these cells in your ear that respond to sound waves malfunction and transmit electrical impulses that your brain misinterprets as sound.

Buzzing in the ears can be idiopathic, which means that it has no known cause. Alternatively, it may result from various causes, including underlying ear infections, medications, foreign objects in the ear, allergies, high blood pressure, anemia, or Meniere’s disease (swelling in part of the inner ear canal, causing dizziness and hearing loss).

Common causes of buzzing in ears

Buzzing in the ears may result from a number of causes including:

• Acoustic neuroma (benign tumor of the vestibulocochlear nerve)

• Blood vessel disorders

• Ear infections

• Ear wax buildup

• Eustachian tube obstruction

• Exposure to loud noises

• Hearing aids

• Meniere’s disease (swelling in part of the inner ear canal, causing dizziness and hearing loss)

• Otosclerosis (hardening of the bones in the ear)

• Stress

• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain

• Thyroid disease

• Trauma

Medications that can cause buzzing in ears

Certain drugs may lead to buzzing in the ears as a side effect including:

• Antibiotics
• Antidepressants
• Antimalaria drugs
• Aspirin (high doses)
• Cancer medications

Serious or life-threatening causes of buzzing in ears

In rare cases, buzzing in the ears may be caused by serious or potentially life-threatening conditions including:

Questions for diagnosing the cause of buzzing in the ears

To diagnose your condition, your doctor or licensed health care practitioner will ask you several questions related to the buzzing in your ears including:

• When did the buzzing start? How long have you had it?

• Do you hear the buzzing in one or both ears?

• Have you recently flown in an airplane, gone scuba diving, or done anything else that exposed you to sudden pressure changes?

• Have you been exposed to loud noises, such as music, fireworks, or construction work?

• Do you have any other symptoms?

• What medications are you taking?

What are the potential complications of buzzing in ears?

Left untreated, buzzing in the ears can interfere with and potentially diminish your quality of life. The buzzing noise can disrupt sleep and work and cause you undue stress, anxiety and depression. In addition, buzzing in the ears may be a symptom of a serious condition, such as a head injury or a brain tumor, which may lead to serious, even life-threatening complications. Once the underlying cause of the buzzing is diagnosed, it is important to follow the treatment plan that you and your health care provider design specifically for you. Complications of untreated buzzing in the ears or its underlying causes, such as head trauma or blood vessel diseases, include:

• Brain damage
• Difficulty performing daily tasks
• Difficulty sleeping
• Mood changes, such as anxiety, depression and stress
• Spread of cancer

• Spread of infection

Does Tinnitus Affect the Brain?

Tinnitus is a common condition characterized by the perception of sound without an identifiable external source. It is often referred to as “ringing in the ears”, but it can take the form of various perceptions of sounds, including swooshing, clicking, buzzing, whistling, and hissing.

Tinnitus is usually a symptom of an underlying medical condition, such as age-related hearing loss, circulatory system problem, or ear trauma. There is no cure for the condition, but treatment focuses on managing the symptoms and treating the underlying condition.

Image Credit: Sjstudio6 / Shutterstock

At least 50 million people in the United States have experienced tinnitus or hearing noises without an external source. Subsequently, approximately one in five people with tinnitus experience discomfort that causes distress and negatively impacts their quality of life.

Tinnitus affects about 10 percent of people in the United States, and 90% of those persons also experience, hearing loss. About half of persons affected by tinnitus seek medical attention.

Chronic or persistent tinnitus is that lasting for six months or more. In some cases, the condition doesn’t go away unless the underlying medical condition is identified and treated.

The exact cause of tinnitus is still unclear, but the most common conditions linked to its development include ear cell damage, age-related hearing loss, impacted cerumen, prolonged exposure to loud noises, changes in ear bones, head or neck injuries, and intake of some medicines. Other causes include eustachian tube damage, ear infection, traumatic brain injury, diabetes, acoustic neuroma, Meniere’s disease, and temporomandibular joint disorders.

Tinnitus and the brain

Many studies have shown that tinnitus has negative effects on the brain.

Tinnitus causes changes in brain networks

Tinnitus can make the brain more attentive. Though it sounds positive, in the long term, it can negatively impact the brain. In a study by researchers at the University of Illinois, they found that chronic tinnitus has been linked to changes in certain networks in the brain. These changes make the brain more attentive and less relaxed.  

Tinnitus is linked to two networks in the brain, dubbed as the dorsal attention network, which recognizes stimulants like touch and noise, and the default mode network, which oversees activities during relaxation and rest.

When a thing captures a person’s attention, the dorsal attention network activates. But in some cases, the default mode network would kick in, allowing the person to relax and prevent mental fatigue.

In a person with tinnitus, the brain focuses more on the ringing or buzzing sound, preventing him to go into default mode. The brain would always be attentive, leading to mental fatigue.

Tinnitus causes mental exhaustion

The condition is worse in people with chronic tinnitus. The brain isn’t designed to be focused or attentive all the time. It needs ample time to relax and rest. Sleep, meditation, relaxation, and study breaks are essential to help the brain recover.

However, chronic tinnitus lets the person focus on the sound of the tinnitus every waking moment, not able to fully relax. This all leads to mental and physical exhaustion, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, and fatigue.

Treating the underlying medical condition behind tinnitus is the treatment to reduce its effects on the body and brain. While some types of tinnitus can’t be completely eradicated, the symptoms can be alleviated, making it easier to cope with. Though not all treatments are promising to remove tinnitus, some measures may help make life easier.

Sources:

• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). (2017). https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/tinnitus
• (2005). Brain Activity and Tinnitus. PLoS Med 2. journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020194
• Haider, HF, Bojic, T., Ribeiro, S., Paco, J., Hall, D., and Szczepek, A. (2017). Pathophysiology of Subjective Tinnitus: Triggers and Maintenance. Frontiers in Neuroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6277522/
• American Academy of Otolayngology- Head and Neck Surgery. (2018). https://www.entnet.org/node/1324.
• Schmidt, SA., Carpenter-Thompson, J., and Husain, F. (2017). Connectivity of precuneus to the default mode and dorsal attention networks: A possible invariant marker of long-term tinnitus. Neuroimage: Clinical. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2017.07.015

Further Reading

Acoustic Neuroma: Symptoms

What Are Symptoms of an Acoustic Neuroma (AN)?

Hearing Loss
Tinnitus (Ringing in the ears)
Vertigo 
Imbalance
Pressure
Facial Weakness & Numbness

Hearing Loss

In over 90% of the patients with AN, the first symptom is a reduction in hearing on one ear due to involvement of the VIIIth nerve. The hearing loss may be noticed as a diminished ability to understand spoken words, particularly in difficult listening conditions as with telephone use. Although hearing loss with diminished speech understanding is relatively common in older individuals with both ears affected, the hearing loss and reduced clarity that is more pronounced in one ear should prompt an evaluation by your doctor. With acoustic neuroma, hearing loss is often accompanied by ringing in on ear– “tinnitus”. The hearing loss is usually subtle and worsens very slowly over a period of time. In about 5% of cases, there may be a sudden loss of hearing. Some patients may experience a sense of fullness in the affected ear. Unfortunately, since hearing loss is often mild and there is no pain, there may be a delay in seeking medical attention.

The audiogram is a very sensitive test for hearing. The audiogram measures the “pure tone average,” (PTA) the “speech reception threshold” (SRT) and the “speech discrimination” (SD) scores.

• Pure tone average (PTA) measures the hearing of individual frequencies of sound. The patient is asked to listen to tones of different frequencies (bass up to treble; low up to high pitch). When the patient is first able to hear the tone in the earphone, that signifies the loudness (in “decibels” the unit of loudness) when the sound is heard. This is repeated for each of approximately eight frequencies. The PTA is the “average” of the level in decibels for the tested frequencies. The higher the PTA the worse the hearing.
• The speech reception threshold (SRT) measures the lowest loudness (in decibels) for detection of speech. Often it is similar in magnitude to the pure tone average. The higher the SRT the worse the hearing.
• The speech discrimination score (SD) is the percentage of spoken words that can be identified when the words are presented in the earphone (one side at a time). The SD has a “hearing level” above threshold at which the words are read. The lower the SD percentage, the worse the hearing.

The mechanism of hearing loss is compression and/or infiltration of auditory nerve fibers. Pressure applied to the nerve trunk may desynchronize or stagger impulses within individual fibers within the nerve, thereby disrupting the clarity of sound. Impairment of the blood supply to the nerve or inner ear may also play a role. In the majority of patients, hearing loss progresses gradually over many years, eventually leading to total deafness in the ear on the side of the tumor. The loss is usually unilateral, or asymmetric, and mainly involves the higher frequencies of sound. Characteristically, speech discrimination is affected more than the pure tone hearing loss (pure tone average).

Less than 2% of patients presenting with sudden hearing loss will ultimately prove to have an AN. Other forms of hearing loss are relatively frequent. In a study of a large group of AN patients, only two-thirds had a high frequency biased hearing loss and approximately 20% had loss at the lower frequencies of sound. A sudden decrease in hearing, often associated with viral infection or vascular occlusion, occurs in about one in eight AN patients. Presumably, sudden hearing loss results from tumor compression. In some patients it may be triggered by head trauma or vigorous physical exercise. The loss may be partial or total, and spontaneous recovery is possible. Sudden loss may be the first event that leads to a diagnosis, or may occur months or years prior to the tumor’s discovery.

A small proportion of AN patients have either normal hearing or symmetric hearing loss. In a recent series, 15 % of AN patients had subjectively normal hearing, of whom only 4 % had normal audiograms SRT (speech reception threshold) < 25 dB, SDS (speech discrimination score) >85 %). In addition, 7% of patients had audiometrically symmetrical hearing.

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Tinnitus (Ringing in the ears)

Definition: Tinnitus (pronounced tin’-it-is) is the perception of ringing, hissing, or other sound in the ears or head when no external sound is present. Tinnitus can be intermittent or constant—with single or multiple tones—and its perceived volume can range from subtle to overwhelming. In the United States, an estimated 12 million people have tinnitus.

Tinnitus is very frequent in AN as it is many inner ear diseases. In most cases, the tinnitus is high pitched and localized to the tumor ear. However, the symptom may be non-localizing and may be of unusual pitches. A few patients with AN present with unilateral tinnitus in the absence of subjective hearing loss. Thus, unilateral tinnitus occurring without explanation is an indication for an evaluation for AN.

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Vertigo 

Vestibular nerve: Since the tumor usually arises from the vestibular nerve which is responsible for balance, unsteadiness or balance problems may be one of the earlier symptoms in the growth of the tumor. Since the remainder of the balance system compensates for this loss, balance problems may stabilize.

Redundancy: There is bilateral innervation of the brainstem by each vestibular nerve. This means that the left vestibular nerve innervates the left and right brainstem, and the right vestibular nerve does the same. This “redundancy” means that it is very difficult for a tumor to completely remove all balance. Similarly, if one of the vestibular nerves is resected as a tumor is removed, the other side appears able to restore a level of activity that enables the restoration of balance.

True vertigo is not commonly associated with AN. In a recent series, only one in five of patients had vertigo, most of whom had small tumors. Vertigo is very infrequent with larger tumors at the time of diagnosis. Thus, it appears that vertigo is caused early in AN growth, perhaps by destruction of the vestibular nerve or through interruption of the blood supply to the labyrinth. With growth, the central nervous system appears capable of adapting the loss of balance information from the affected ear, and thus the sense of vertigo subsides.

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Imbalance

Dysequilibrium is much more prevalent than vertigo. Dysequilibrium occurs in nearly half of AN patients. In contrast to vertigo, which decreases in incidence with increasing tumor size, dysequilbrium becomes more frequent with larger tumor sizes. The most likely mechanisms involved in causing dysequilibrium are uncompensated unilateral vestibular deafferentation or persistent perverse input from the diseased vestibular nerve.

Cerebellar dysfunction is intention tremor and gait ataxia (unsteady walking). Large ANs indent the lateral cerebellar lobe and peduncles and may compress part of the cerebellum. Outright cerebellar dysfunction is uncommon in AN, and is limited to large tumors. Although little information is available on its exact incidence, truncal (trunk, abdomen, chest) ataxia appears to be more common than limb ataxia. Patients tend to fall towards the side of the tumor.

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Pressure

As the AN grows, the capsule of the tumor presses upon the lining of the inside of the skull (the dura). The dura has sensory fibers that can transmit the sensation of the pressure. The headache that results from the acoustic neuroma can be dull or aching in quality and is usually unilateral. The headache may “radiate” to the neck, top of the head or front of the head.

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Facial Weakness & Numbness

Muscle innervation: For the acoustic neuromas, pressure upon or infiltration of the tumor into the facial nerve may result in facial weakness. The muscles supplied by the facial nerve include the muscles of facial expression and spontaneous emotion. The muscles for eye closure, raising the eyebrows and wrinkling the forehead are innervated by the facial nerve. Facial weakness is rare at the time of diagnosis, though spasms of the facial nerve caused by tumor compression are not uncommon.

Tears and taste: The facial nerve also has functions of “tear” formation and taste. Pressure on the nerve can cause dry eye or even unexpected “tear” formation. The branch of the facial nerve that controls tearing is the greater superficial petrosal nerve. The branch of the facial nerve that provides the sense of taste to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue is the “chorda tympani.”

Facial numbness: As the tumor grows larger in size and starts pressing on other nerves, mainly the trigeminal nerve, facial sensation may be affected. The patients will then experience numbness and facial tingling, constantly or intermittently. There may be facial tingling on the side of the AN.

The tingling or “paresthesia” may be near the corner of the mouth or on the cheek. Facial numbness is not as common as the facial weakness.  Patients may also have facial tics or spasms. As the tumor grows larger or presses on the brainstem, the patient will experience headaches, facial weakness, vertigo and unsteady gait due to raised intracranial pressure.

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90,000 “Noise in the ears and head” – Yandex.Q

Noise or ringing in the ears and head are not independent diseases, usually it is a consequence of a certain malfunction in the body. Moreover, the “problem” can be as insignificant as, for example, excessive fatigue, and quite serious – otitis media, swelling, Meniere’s disease.

Official medicine uses the term tinnitus to refer to persistent ringing in the ears and head. Ringing and noise are subjective, that is, only the patient himself hears them.Sounds can be different: whistling, buzzing, ringing, sound of waves. Along with these sounds, there may be a gradual or abrupt hearing loss.

Noise in the head is usually accompanied by other symptoms: headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, hearing loss, which help to determine the cause of its occurrence and prescribe treatment, including with the help of drugs.

The mechanism of development of tinnitus

The inner ear is made up of hearing cells with hairs that help convert sound into electrical impulses, which are then sent to the brain. Normally, the movements of these hairs correspond to the vibrations of sound.

The occurrence of chaotic movement is facilitated by various factors leading to their irritation or damage. As a result, a mixture of various electrical signals is formed, which is perceived by the brain as constant noise.

Degrees

Depending on how the noise is transferred, 4 degrees of it are distinguished:

1. Relatively easy to tolerate, minor discomfort.
2. Poorly tolerated in silence, at night. Almost annoying during the day.
3. Feels like day and night. Sleep disturbed. Depression, decreased mood.
4. Intrusive, unbearable noise that deprives you of sleep. Constantly worried, the patient is practically disabled.

Also, most scientists divide tinnitus into objective (audible not only to the patient himself, but also to those around him) and subjective (felt only by the patient himself).

Causes of noise in the ears and head

What could it be? There are a lot of reasons for the noise felt in the head and ears, from banal fatigue, overwork to the most dangerous diseases, such as, for example, brain tumors. They highlight the main reasons leading to an unpleasant symptom, which we will talk about below, but you should not carry out an independent diagnosis and diagnose yourself – only a doctor is competent in this.

According to the classification, the appeared noise in the ears and head is objective and subjective:

• Subjective murmur is usually only heard by the patient. In this case, it is assumed that there are pathologies in the middle or inner ear, but it may also be a manifestation of one of the diseases.
• Objective noise can also be heard by the doctor during examination and diagnosis. But this option is quite rare, and the reasons that cause it lie in periodic contractions of the muscles of the pharynx or changes in pressure in the tympanic cavity.

So, with noise in the head and ears, the following conditions can be the reasons for such discomfort:

• sudden increase in pressure;
• sulfur plug;
• concussion;
• atherosclerosis;
• circulatory disorders;
• vascular failure;
• brain tumor;
• neurology;
• osteochondrosis;
• vegetative vascular dystonia;
• nasal congestion;
• weakness during pregnancy;
• neurosis;
• sensorineural hearing loss
• Meniere’s disease is a pathology of the middle ear, in which the amount of fluid in its cavity increases. This is accompanied by frequent dizziness, hearing impairment in one ear, as well as discoordination of movements.

List of the most common drugs that can cause tinnitus and head noises:

• antimalarial drugs;
• Certain cancer medicines Vincristine or Mechlorethamine;
• diuretic drugs: “Furosemide”, “Ethacrynic acid”, “Bumetanide”;
• in large doses “Aspirin”;
• Certain antidepressants;
• antibiotics: “Erythromycin”, “Polymyxin B”, “Neomycin”, “Vancomycin”.

From the above, it becomes clear that the causes of noise in the head are various pathological conditions of the body. To get rid of an unpleasant symptom, you should eliminate its cause, and there is no point in influencing the noise itself. The search for the causes of noise in the head and ears should be started as early as possible and should be carried out not only by an otorhinolaryngologist, but also by other specialists, a neurologist, an osteopath, a cardiologist, and a psychotherapist.

Associated symptoms

In addition to the main discomfort, the noise may accompany other symptoms.They help to make a correct diagnosis:

• headache;
• Pain in the ear or pressure;
• dizziness;
• nausea, vomiting;
• Redness and swelling of the ears or the skin around them;
• discharge from one or both ears;
• fever;
• malaise or lethargy.

When a patient appears who indicates tinnitus, the doctor, first of all, tries to exclude the possibility of damage to the brain and its structures.

Diagnostics

To determine the cause of the noise in the head, a comprehensive examination is necessary: ​​

1. Analyzes of urine and blood, it is done narrow and expanded, this is how the presence of cancer is determined;
2. MRI of the brain is necessary for a complete study of all its tissues and blood vessels, as well as diagnostics of diseases of the inner ear, while it is also possible to identify small formations;
3. MRI of the upper spine, this technique determines any diseases and changes in it;
4. It is necessary to do angiography of the vessels, for a complete examination of them and clarify the condition, while it is possible to identify areas that are in poor condition;
5. An audiogram and a hearing test are prescribed.

If you hear a noise in your head, you need to understand that these are not just some sounds that create discomfort. Noise can be the result of very serious medical conditions that require immediate medical attention. This is the only way you can keep your brain vessels and hearing organs healthy for years to come.

How to treat tinnitus and head noises

In order to start an adequate treatment of tinnitus and head, it is necessary to establish the exact cause of this phenomenon.Usually, concomitant symptoms allow a reliable diagnosis and initiation of effective therapy.

• In case of osteochondrosis, non-narcotic analgesics – katadolon are prescribed to control pain syndrome. Mandatory non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – meloxicam, nemisulide. Muscle relaxants – sirdalut, midocalm help to eliminate muscle tension. Anticonvulsants are sometimes indicated – carbamazepine, gabapentin.
• If the etiological factor is sulfur plug, then it is successfully eliminated during flushing of the ear canal with saline or furacilin supplied through Janet’s syringe.
• As for the noises in the ears and head, which are the result of vascular pathology, neoplasms and other pathological processes, then they need to be dealt with by acting on the underlying disease.

In a word, each specific reason has its own approach. It will be an easy therapy, which will only manage with recommendations or drugs for tinnitus, or the fight against noise will develop into a long examination and difficult treatment – time will tell, since there is simply no single recipe for all the variety of noises.

Relaxation

If tinnitus is caused by stress or overexertion, the following relaxation techniques help well: aromatherapy (lavender, orange, cypress, spruce, juniper, mint, sandalwood and lemon balm essential oils are considered the best for relaxation), medicinal baths, sauna visits, inverted positions yoga, outdoor recreation, travel, long walks.

Material provided

simptomy-lechenie. net

Tinnitus, symptoms and treatment

Tinnitus is an unpleasant hearing sensation that occurs in the absence of an external sound source. Noises of a different nature can be in one or both ears, often there is a feeling that it is noisy in the head.

Tinnitus (tinnīre) is the medical term for ringing or tinnitus. A person describes a similar subjective sensation in the form of ringing, buzzing, hum or other sounds perceived by the ear in the absence of auditory stimuli from the outside.Tinnitus is often associated with varying degrees of hearing loss. The intensity of the noise at different time intervals can vary from a faint barely noticeable ringing to a strong hum. In older people, due to age-related aging of the body, the development of pathologies of the hearing system, the addition of vascular diseases, tinnitus, as a rule, increases from year to year, making it difficult to perceive real ambient sounds.

Tinnitus is not an isolated disease, it is only a manifestation of ill-being in the body, requiring careful diagnosis and treatment. Tinnitus means not only ringing in the ears, but also a complex of problems associated with it. Chronic tinnitus is diagnosed in 5-10% of the world’s population, most of whom are elderly people.

The mechanism of development of tinnitus

The inner ear is made up of hearing cells with hairs that help convert sound into electrical impulses, which are then sent to the brain. Normally, the movements of these hairs correspond to the vibrations of sound. The occurrence of chaotic movement is facilitated by various factors leading to their irritation or damage.As a result, a mixture of various electrical signals is formed, which is perceived by the brain as constant noise.

Causes of tinnitus

There are many etiological factors leading to the onset of tinnitus: direct pathologies of the hearing organs, taking certain medications, general diseases, aging of the body, etc.

Outer ear pathologies:

foreign body in the auricle;
otitis externa;

sulfur plug.

Middle ear pathologies:

tumor formation, trauma or other damage to the eardrum, for example, listening to loud music through headphones or prolonged exposure to the ears of sounds from a working tractor or chainsaw;

exudative otitis media;

otosclerosis.

Inner ear pathologies:

sensorineural hearing loss;

Meniere’s disease;

swelling of the auditory nerve;

complications of ARVI, influenza;

neuritis of the auditory nerve;

ototoxic effect of medications or other substances:

• aminoglycoside antibiotics;

90,019 macrolides;

• drugs acting on the central nervous system;

90,019 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;

90,019 loop diuretics

90,019 cardiovascular drugs;

• organic solvents.

labyrinthitis;

presbycusia – senile hearing loss due to age-related changes in the auditory cells.

Systemic diseases with tinnitus:

metabolic diseases – diabetes, thyrotoxicosis, thyroiditis, hypoglycemia;

malignant and benign tumor processes – acoustic neuroma, tumor of the tympanic membrane or brain stem, meningioma;

vascular atherosclerosis;

hypertension;

osteochondrosis developing in the cervical spine;

stenosis of the jugular veins or carotid arteries.

Other reasons:

poisoning with industrial poisons;

hepatitis;

liquid getting into the ear;

perilymph fistula;

stress;

head injury.

What kind of tinnitus can there be?

Kinds of noise:

• Objective. In addition to the patient, such a noise is heard by the doctor. This type is rare in practice.
• Subjective. Only the patient hears noises of a different nature.
• Vibrating.Sounds reproduced by the organ of hearing itself or by structures surrounding it. It is these mechanical noises that both the patient and the doctor can hear.
• Non-vibration. Only the patient hears various sounds. They arise from pathological excitement or irritation of the nerve endings of the auditory tract, inner ear.

Gradation of non-vibration noise:

• center – noises are felt in the center of the head;
• peripheral – a sound heard in one ear.
• Permanent. It is observed after surgery to cross the vestibular cochlear nerve or with severe vascular atherosclerosis.
• Periodic. Occurs during inflammatory ear lesions.
• One-sided. Heard in only one ear.
• Bilateral. Heard in both ears.
• Variants of the manifestation of noise in the ears

According to statistics, approximately 15-30% of the world’s population periodically feel ringing or noise in their ears, 20% of them characterize it as loud.Tinnitus is diagnosed with the same frequency in both women and men from 40 to 80 years old. However, pronounced noise with hearing loss is more typical for men, who, by virtue of their profession, are more often found among strong industrial and production noises.

The noise may vary from person to person. Some people are worried about monotonous hiss, someone whistling, tapping, ringing, buzzing or hum. Tinnitus is often accompanied by partial hearing loss, headaches (cephalalgia), and sleep disturbances.The noise can be accompanied by low-grade fever, discharge from the auricle, nausea, dizziness, pain, swelling and a feeling of fullness inside the ear. The intensity of sounds is different: from a weak ringing to a strong hum or roar. Often, the patient, describing the nature of the noise, says that it resembles the noise of a waterfall or a passing vehicle.

Most people are forced to get used to their pathological state, however, a lot of noise leads to insomnia, irritability, inability to concentrate on work or everyday household chores.Some people complain that the loud constant hum prevents them from hearing other ambient sounds and speech. In fact, this hum is not so loud, and they do not hear well due to the weakening of hearing that accompanies the noise in their ears.

Diagnosis for tinnitus

Certain diagnostic difficulties arise due to the multifactorial nature of the pathology, as well as due to the fact that subjective non-vibration ringing is difficult to determine by objective diagnostic methods. If noise occurs, its amplification and hearing duration increase or decrease, it is necessary to visit an otolaryngologist. To find out the cause and its elimination, consultations of other narrow specialists are not excluded – a vascular surgeon, cardiologist, neuropathologist, psychiatrist, endocrinologist.

First, the ENT doctor performs a physical examination. Clarifies the nature, intensity, duration of the noise. Finds out whether there are chronic diseases of the endocrine, cardiovascular and nervous systems. Visual otolaryngological examination allows you to assess the condition of the auricles, to see the external manifestations of the inflammatory process or injury.Then, based on the alleged cause of the noise, a series of studies are assigned.

Non-invasive instrumental diagnostic methods:

Tonal threshold audiometry is a technique for testing hearing acuity using an apparatus – an audiometer. The device emits tones of different frequencies and intensities, which the patient hears through the headphones, after picking up the sound, he presses the button. Based on the data obtained, an audiogram is drawn up, according to which the doctor assesses the level of hearing.
Weber’s test is a study of hearing acuity using a tuning fork, which is installed in the middle of the forehead or in the parietal region.If the subject hears sounds better on the side of the diseased ear, the cause of deafness is in sound conduction (unilateral conductive hearing loss), if on the side of the healthy one, the inner ear is affected (unilateral sensorineural hearing loss).

X-ray of the skull. With a head injury.

X-ray of the spinal column (cervical spine). With osteochondrosis.

Doppler ultrasonography of cerebral vessels. With atherosclerosis and ischemia.

Rheoencephalography of cerebral vessels. With ischemic damage.

Radiography (planar) of the temporal bone pyramid.With suspicion of retrocochlear formation.

Polytomography: MRI or CT. With a presumed tumor process.

CT of the skull with contrast. If you suspect a swelling of the inner ear.

Laboratory diagnostic methods:

• Thyroid hormone test.
• Clinical blood test.
• “Biochemistry” of blood with the determination of lipid levels.
• Serological tests for syphilis.

Treatment of tinnitus

The main thing in treatment is to minimize the impact on the body or, if possible, completely eliminate the cause that led to the tinnitus.The underlying disease is being treated. In osteochondrosis, non-narcotic analgesics are prescribed to manage pain syndrome. Mandatory non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Muscle relaxants help to eliminate muscle tension. Anticonvulsants are sometimes indicated.

If the etiological factor is the sulfur plug, then it is successfully eliminated during the lavage of the ear canal. Complex therapy of cerebral vascular pathology consists of nootropics; drugs that improve metabolism and blood circulation in the brain.

The appearance of ringing in the ears and a slight decrease in hearing, arising from the use of drugs that adversely affect hearing, are the basis for the cancellation of these drugs. They are replaced with others that do not cause tinnitus. In most cases, after this, the problems disappear on their own, it is rarely possible to return to normal hearing acuity.

Tinnitus is treated with tricyclic antidepressants. Medical therapy is complemented by physiotherapy.Regarding the etiology, endaural electrophonophoresis, apparatus treatment, laser and magnetic therapy, pneumomassage of the tympanic membrane are prescribed. Acupuncture, reflexology or electrical stimulation are effective.

With noise or other types of tympanic membrane injuries or age-related changes in the structures of the ear, hearing loss is irreversible. A person only has to adapt to the problem that has arisen. In such cases, the doctor recommends hearing aids.A hearing aid is removed or, if the hearing loss is more severe, a cochlear implant is inserted.

The doctor of the clinic “Health Clinic” will offer treatment options already at the first consultation.

The knowledge and experience of the doctors in our clinic have made it possible to achieve amazing success in the treatment of tinnitus.

The Health Clinic has the most modern diagnostic equipment that allows an accurate diagnosis and treatment to begin.

Location in the very center of Moscow, within walking distance from two metro stations.

Convenient time to visit the doctor.

symptoms and diagnosis by ultrasound and MRI

Noise, rustle, ringing, hum, clicking in the ears in the absence of any external extraneous sounds is a deviation called tinnitus. Most people who encounter this problem do not perceive it as a serious signal, but as an annoying inconvenience, thinking that rhythmic ringing in the ears can be caused by stress or overwork.But in some cases, tinnitus can begin to dominate perception, provoke insomnia, phobias, and even depression. In addition, this alarming sign may indicate more serious health problems.

It is important to understand that tinnitus is not a diagnosis, but only a symptom. And it is very important to understand the reasons that cause it.

There are a number of causes of tinnitus. Among them are stagnation of fluid in the ear, and diseases of the tympanic membrane or

middle ear, and infection.It can also be age-related damage to the endings of the auditory nerve in the inner ear. Noise trauma, mites, atherosclerosis, and sulfur plug can all cause tinnitus. Up to the cerebral aneurysm. Therefore, if tinnitus bothers you for a long time, consult an otolaryngologist or neurologist.

Tinnitus: Diagnosis with Ultrasound and MRI

At the first stage of the examination, as a rule, patients are given an audiogram. It defines the threshold of hearing.For a more accurate diagnosis of the causes of the deviation, ultrasound and MRI are used. And only after that, treatment begins. Let’s take a closer look at the main diagnostic procedures that help identify the causes of tinnitus.

If the cause of the tinnitus is neurologic, the doctor will need an ultrasound scan. Ultrasound will clarify functional changes in the bloodstream of the brain, reveal the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the vessels. You will also need magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and head vessels.The latter procedure will eliminate aneurysms and congenital vascular changes.

It is important to understand that for this pathology, ultrasound and MRI are not duplicating, but complementary studies. MRI will help rule out other serious diagnoses: a brain tumor, acoustic neuromas, or areas of ischemia.

Both ultrasound and MRI are absolutely safe diagnostic techniques for detecting abnormalities in the vessels of the head, brain, ear, and organs of vision. Both procedures do not require prior preparation from the patient.Certain limitations exist only for MRI. They are caused by the strong magnetic field generated by the tomograph. That is, the procedure is contraindicated in patients whose body contains medical devices consisting of electronics or metal.

In Zaporozhye, you can undergo tinnitus diagnostics using ultrasound and MRI at the Unimed Medical Center. The center has modern tomographs and ultrasound machines, as well as a staff of highly qualified specialists.

Registration for examination and consultations by phones: +38 (061) 270-80-85, +38 (050) 320-27-07, +38 (067) 350-27-07.

90,000 Diagnostics and treatment of tinnitus in Moscow, price

03.11.2021

The article was checked by an otolaryngologist of the 1st category, Ph.D. Dubtsova E.A. is for general informational purposes only and does not replace specialist advice.
Consultation with a physician is required for recommendations on diagnosis and treatment.

Tinnitus – auditory sensations that appear in the absence of sound vibrations of the environment.

The following types of noise are distinguished:

• physiological – occurs in a healthy person with absolute silence
• pathological – objective and subjective. The difference between objective and subjective noise is that the objective noise is heard not only by the patient, but also by those around him.

Causes and pathogenesis of tinnitus

Tinnitus can develop as a result of damage to the inner ear (consequences of acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections), atherosclerosis of the cerebral vessels, hypertension, taking ototoxic drugs, due to exposure to loud sounds, with pathology of the auditory nerve.Tinnitus can be a symptom of a disease of the middle (acute otitis media, otosclerosis, tympanic membrane injury) and external (sulfur plug, foreign body) ear. Also, noise can appear with various vascular developmental anomalies; with psychoemotional stress, significantly worsening its course, causing sleep disturbances, insomnia.

Pathological noise occurs when listening to the sounds of your body when the nerve cells of the auditory analyzer are irritated, sound conduction is disturbed, etc.The cause of the appearance of pathological impulses can be a change in spontaneous bioelectric activity in the nervous tissue.

Symptoms of tinnitus

Tinnitus may be pulsating or buzzing, high or low, etc. Depending on the cause of the noise, patients complain of headache, dizziness, pain and discomfort inside the ear, nausea, pathological discharge from the ears, deterioration of health.

Diagnosis of tinnitus at the Clinical Hospital on Yauza

Specialists of the Clinical Hospital on Yauza carry out a differentiated diagnosis of tinnitus using audiometry.This method involves the determination of hearing acuity, auditory sensitivity to various sound waves using a special audiometer device. For example, a clicking sound may indicate a neuromuscular disease; in case of vascular pathology, the patient complains of buzzing or pulsating tinnitus.

In addition, the otolaryngologist can prescribe laboratory tests, as well as send related specialists to consultations – a cardiologist, therapist, neurologist, psychotherapist.

Treatment of tinnitus at the Clinical Hospital on Yauza

Treatment of tinnitus is aimed at eliminating the underlying disease. We use drug therapy, the purpose of which is to improve blood supply and metabolic processes. It is also possible to carry out electrical stimulation, reflexology, magnetotherapy, etc. In some cases, surgical treatment is indicated, the type of which is determined by the specialist in accordance with the causes of the noise.

You can look at the prices for services in the price list or check the phone number indicated on the website.

Literature:

3. Gunchikov M.V., Leizerman M.G., Apostolidi K.G., Galleev A.I., Oshnokov A.A. On the use of radio wave technology in otorhinolaryngology [Electronic resource] // Bulletin of the National Medical and Surgical Center named after N.I. Pirogova. 2008.
   https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ob-ispolzovanii-radiovolnovoy-tehniki-v-otorinolaringologii.

4. Zarubin M.M. Treatment of diseases of the ENT organs. The newest reference // Phoenix. 2007.

5. Palchun, V.T. Diseases of the ear, throat and nose // GEOTAR-Media. 2010.

90,000 Tinnitus – causes, treatment, diagnosis – Clinic “Doctor near”

Most often, a symptom of tinnitus manifests itself in the following illnesses:

Hearing loss significantly limits a person’s capabilities.Diseases leading to partial or complete deafness have initial manifestations that allow taking active measures to treat them and, accordingly, prevent hearing loss. Ringing or tinnitus are common symptoms of hearing impairment. When they appear, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to identify the cause of the pathological symptoms and choose the correct methods of treatment.

Etiology and manifestations

Tinnitus often occurs against the background of diseases of the inner ear, pathology of the auditory nerve, thyroid dysfunction, and disorders of the nervous system and brain.Each of the reasons is accompanied by other specific symptoms:

• inflammation of the middle and inner ear. The disease occurs suddenly, often after hypothermia. In addition to noise, it is manifested by severe throbbing pain, ear congestion and an increase in body temperature;

• arterial hypertension. In this case, patients note a clear relationship between tinnitus and high blood pressure.Pathology is accompanied by headache, dizziness, darkening of the eyes and severe weakness. Often, such attacks are manifested in the weather, emotional distress or physical work;

• neuroma of the auditory nerve. With this tumor, in addition to irreversible hearing loss, visual impairment, disorder of the masticatory apparatus, and paresis of the facial nerve may occur. In the early stages of its development, neuroma of the facial nerve is accompanied by hearing loss;

• atherosclerosis.Systemic damage to the arteries can lead to damage to the auditory analyzer. It is this that is the age-related cause of hearing loss.

• Meniere’s disease. Inner ear disorder is characterized by recurrent bouts of deafness that progressively worsens. In the interictal period, patients complain of tinnitus and mild dizziness;

• thyrotoxicosis – increased production of hormones by the cells of the thyroid gland.They affect not only the auditory analyzer, but also cause sweating, heart palpitations, a feeling of heat, bulging of the eyeballs;

• multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune pathology in which peripheral nerves and spinal cord are destroyed. Identifying it as the cause of tinnitus can improve the prognosis of the disease due to early initiation of treatment;

• trauma to the auditory analyzer.Often people do not attach importance to light blows or shaking of the head during falls. Under certain conditions, they can cause minor intracranial hemorrhage, causing persistent tinnitus;

• ototoxic drugs. Certain groups of antibiotics, diuretics, antidepressants, and acetylsalicylic acid can have negative effects on the auditory nerve. They are contraindicated in children and adults with a history of the auditory analyzer;

• vascular anomalies, among which the leading place is taken by an aneurysm of the brain.It is manifested by a pulsating noise.

In addition to the main reasons, tinnitus can be caused by rare genetic defects, infectious diseases and even helminthic infestations. This symptom must be treated with the utmost caution, undergoing a comprehensive examination when it appears.

Diagnostics

Rarely, it is possible to diagnose and determine the cause of tinnitus based on clinical symptoms alone.More often, this requires a whole range of diagnostic procedures aimed both at the auditory analyzer and at other organs.

1. ENT examination. The first specialist to whom you need to contact when this symptom appears is an otorhinolaryngologist. He performs not only an examination of the outer ear, but also a number of tests, including audiometry, which makes it possible to set a presumptive diagnosis and determine the further examination procedure. Also, the ENT carefully examines the history of the disease and all the symptoms present.Often, after his consultation, patients recall an episode of trauma or the fact of taking medications that have a toxic effect on the ear.

2. Neurologist’s consultation. Since a whole group of causes that cause tinnitus are related to the nervous system, a neurologist’s examination is extremely necessary.

3. CT and MRI of the brain. These research methods make it possible to identify organic changes in the central nervous system, for example, the neuroma of the auditory nerve.

4. Daily monitoring of blood pressure. If the described methods are ineffective, the patient is recommended to record episodes of tinnitus with the tonometer installed. The coincidence of a symptom with high blood pressure indicates arterial hypertension, which became its cause.

5. Ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck. This diagnostic study is aimed at diagnosing atherosclerosis.

6. Laboratory diagnostics. An increased concentration of thyroid hormones or blood sugar is evidence of thyrotoxicosis and diabetes mellitus ..

Tinnitus treatment

After the diagnosis is partially made, the treatment of the appearance of tinnitus is aimed at eliminating its cause:

1. inflammation of the inner and middle ear requires the appointment of anti-inflammatory and antibiotic therapy.Most often, drugs are prescribed in the form of ear drops. It is imperative to prescribe antihistamines to relieve the allergic component of inflammation;

2. antihypertensive drugs are the main focus in the treatment of hypertension. Depending on the stage, clinical manifestations and blood pressure numbers, various combinations of these drugs are used;

3. in Meniere’s disease, antipsychotics are the drugs of choice.Mostly they are prescribed in the acute phase of the disease;

4. statins are indicated for systemic atherosclerosis. Often their appointment is combined with antithrombotic agents, which prevents the progression of the disease and prevents the occurrence of thrombosis;

5. neuroma of the auditory nerve and vascular anomalies are subject to surgical intervention;

6. with thyrotoxicosis, drugs are prescribed that suppress the function of the thyroid gland.In severe cases, surgery is performed.

Symptomatic therapy

Along with etiotropic treatment, symptomatic drugs are prescribed that help eliminate the manifestations of the disease through the implementation of various mechanisms:

• calcium channel blockers. Stabilize vascular tone, normalizing blood pressure, which helps to eliminate tinnitus, headache and dizziness;

• drugs that improve blood circulation in the brain;

• vasotropic drugs that strengthen the vascular wall;

• herbal preparations.

• sedatives.

The duration of symptomatic therapy is determined by the attending physician based on the clinical picture of the disease. Mostly it is continued for some time after the cause of the pathological symptoms has been eliminated.

Local treatment

Together with systemic therapy, patients are prescribed local medications:

• nasal drops.Nasal instillation of vasoconstrictor drugs reduces edema of the mucous membrane of the Eustachian tube and tympanic membrane. It helps to reduce symptoms such as tinnitus, ear congestion and hearing loss;

• ear drops have a similar effect, which are mainly prescribed for otitis externa. Often they are combined with nasal drops, which gives a more pronounced clinical effect.

In conclusion, tinnitus is a symptom that (in many cases) can be a harbinger of serious hearing impairment.In case of primary hearing impairment, it is necessary to immediately contact the ENT in order to undergo a comprehensive examination, and, having found out the cause of the noise, effectively eliminate it. Otherwise, serious complications are possible, up to and including complete hearing loss.

90,000 Tongue exposure to electric shock can drown out chronic tinnitus

Tinnitus (Latin) – continuous ringing or buzzing in the ears – affects up to 15% of people. This phenomenon is difficult to explain and even more difficult to eliminate. However, scientists have now shown that the effect of electric shock on the tongue, combined with a carefully designed sound mode, can reduce symptoms of the disease not only directly during treatment, but also for a period of up to one year after application.

According to the neuroscientist Christopher Sederoth of the University of Nottingham Park, who was not involved in the research himself, this is really important work. The research overlaps with other observations showing that bimodal stimulation, in which sound is used in conjunction with a small amount of electrical current, can help the brain “calm down” misbehaving neurons.

Hubert Lim, a biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, discovered the role of language in tinnitus by accident.Several years ago, he experimented with using a technique called deep brain stimulation to restore hearing in his patients. When he inserted a pencil-sized rod covered with electrodes directly into the brains of five patients, some of those electrodes were slightly outside the target area – a problem common with deep brain stimulation, Lim says. Later, when he fired up the device to map its effects on the brain, a patient who had had tinnitus for years said, “Oh my tinnitus! I can’t hear my tinnitus, ”Lim recalls.

In some types of tinnitus, people hear real sounds. For example, it could be repetitive contractions of the ear muscles, says Lim. But for many people, the reason lies in the brain, which perceives non-existent sounds. One possible explanation for this effect is that hearing loss causes the brain to overcompensate for frequencies it can no longer hear.

Further studies in guinea pigs identified body parts that should be stimulated to stop tinnitus, says Lim.He and his colleagues tested the eyes, limbs, and “other places” and finally found the tongue to be the best place.

Then Lim turned his attention to humans. In an experiment by his research team, 326 people with tinnitus spent up to one hour at a time with a small plastic spatula on their tongue. Tiny electrodes in the scapula were used to deliver an electrical current designed to broadly excite the brain, causing activity in a series of interconnected areas. The electrical stimulation is a bit like sizzling hard candy in your mouth, Lim says.

The subjects also wore headphones for a more targeted effect on the system of perception of sounds in the brain. Each person heard a rapidly changing series of clear tones at different frequencies against a background of noise that sounds “like some kind of electronic music,” says Lim. The purpose of the double exposure was to distract the brain by increasing its sensitivity and making it suppress the activity that causes tinnitus. “The brain can’t pay attention to so many things at once,” says Lim.

During 12 weeks of treatment, the symptoms of tinnitus in the patients were significantly reduced. Improvement was noted by more than 80% of those who followed the prescribed regimen. As researchers in Science Translational Medicine currently report, patients experienced an average decrease of about 14 points on a tinnitus severity scale of one to 100. When the group re-observed after 12 months, 80% of the participants still had lower murmur scores. in the ears – by an average of 12.7 and 14.5 points.

The results are “very impressive,” says Cederroth. This symptom reduction is superior to that found with bimodal stimulation in other studies, he says, and is the first evidence of such long-term effects. A 2018 article describing stimulation of the neck and cheek skin for a shorter time also improved the symptoms of tinnitus in patients; but, as he notes, the decrease in severity score was less – only about seven points. And CBT, a form of talk therapy that is currently the only clinically proven therapy for tinnitus, improves severity scores by an average of about 10 points.

However, Oxford University neuroscientist Victoria Baggio notes that there was no control group in the study. Without this, she said, it is impossible to find out in what number of cases the improvement would have occurred spontaneously or with the help of a placebo. The work is good, she said, “but this is just the beginning.”

What is Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment?

Tinnitus is ringing, buzzing, buzzing or whistling in the ears without an external source. The condition is caused by another disorder, usually from aging, trauma, anxiety, or a middle ear infection, and the symptoms and experience of tinnitus are very different for each person.Tinnitus treatment neuromonics treats the underlying neurological problems of tinnitus by altering or creating new neurological connections in the brain. These new auditory pathways help the brain filter out the symptoms of tinnitus.

The effect of tinnitus is wide, but the most debilitating is the emotional response the brain forms with sounds. As a result of hearing loss, everyday sounds that the brain naturally filters out become recognizable and more noticeable; the brain also compensates for hearing loss by making hearing functions more sensitive.Since sounds tend to be harsh or harsh, a person may become anxious or stressed when they hear the sound, and the brain, in turn, begins to attach these feelings to the sound. This cycle continues and not only creates deeper changes in the ear canals, but also creates quality of life problems, as many people have problems with anxiety, sensitivity to sounds, and decreased ability to concentrate.

Treatment of neuromonics in the ears requires that a person listen to music through a specialized device with headphones for several hours every day.Audiologists evaluate each patient individually to create a hearing loss profile that will be used to create a specific sound program. Each acoustic stimulus is tuned to a different sound and sound frequency so the brain can build new auditory pathways that filter out sounds in the ears. Sounds or music are usually relaxing enough and quiet enough for the person to hear other sounds as well. Most doctors require the person to wear the device every day for two to four hours for the first two months, and treatment usually lasts four to six months.

The Neuromonic Tinnitus Device can usually be worn throughout the day while performing other activities, and some people will even benefit from wearing the device while sleeping. After a period of treatment, most people will only wear the device to maintain their condition. While neuromonic tinnitus treatment does not cure tinnitus, it reduces the sensitivity to sounds, so the patient is either not aware of them or no longer bothers them.