A study of cochlear and auditory pathways in patients with tension-type headache.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the function of cochlear and auditory pathways in patients suffering from tension-type headache (TTH) using various audiological methods.


METHODS
Twenty-three TTH patients (46 ears) and 26 healthy controls (52 ears) were included, and routine diagnostic audiometry, extended high-frequency audiometry, acoustic reflex (ASR), transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and suppression TEOAEs were tested.


RESULTS
The TTH group showed higher thresholds (P < 0.05) for both pure tone and extended high-frequency audiometry at all frequencies except for 9, 14 and 16 kHz. All ASR thresholds were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the TTH group compared with the controls, except for the ipsilateral reflex at 1 kHz, but the threshold differences between the ASR and the corresponding pure tone audiometry did not differ (P > 0.05). For the DPOAEs, the detected rates were lower (P < 0.05) in the TTH group compared with the controls at 4 and 6 kHz, and the amplitudes and signal to noise ratio (S/N) were not significantly different between groups. No differences in the TEOAEs (P > 0.05) were observed for the detected rates, amplitudes, S/Ns or contralateral suppression, except for the S/Ns of the 0.5-1 kHz TEOAE responses, which were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the TTH group.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study indicate that subclinical changes in cochlear function are associated with TTH.
Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, shenhang12@sina.com.
Hang
H
Shen
Wenyang
W
Hao
Libo
L
Li
Daofeng
D
Ni
Liying
L
Cui
Yingying
Y
Shang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000379:methods; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / Q000502:physiology; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult