title: Tinnitus in the profoundly hearing-impaired and the effects of cochlear implants.
abstract: Of the 82 adult patients implanted in the Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program 304, 22 patients (27%) reported a bothersome tinnitus preoperatively. The tinnitus handicap experienced preoperatively in this profoundly deaf population is greater than that reported by mildly to severely hearing-impaired patients. The magnitude of their handicap was not correlated with age or preoperative hearing loss. After 2 years of cochlear implant use, a reduction in the tinnitus handicap was reported in 9, and an increase was noted in 3 of the 22 patients. In addition, 3 patients experienced a "severe" tinnitus 2 years after receiving a cochlear implant, whereas they had not reported a "bothersome" tinnitus preoperatively. One patient reported a tinnitus immediately after the surgery, but it subsided within a few days.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tyler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome