H. Ryu et al., NEUROVASCULAR DECOMPRESSION OF THE 8TH CRANIAL NERVE IN PATIENTS WITHHEMIFACIAL SPASM AND INCIDENTAL TINNITUS - AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO STUDY TINNITUS, Journal of neurosurgery, 88(2), 1998, pp. 232-236
Object. The authors sought to clarify the clinical characteristics of
tinnitus resulting from neurovascular compression (NVC) of the eighth
cranial nerve. Methods. The authors explored the eighth cranial nerve
in the cerebellopontine cistern during neurovascular decompression (NV
D) of the facial nerve in 10 patients with hemifacial spasm who suffer
ed from incidental tinnitus on the same side. The diagnosis of NVC of
the eighth cranial nerve was confirmed in all patients. This condition
was found in only seven of 114 patients with hemifacial spasm alone,
indicating that NVC of the eighth cranial nerve is one of the causes o
f tinnitus (p < 0.001, chi-square test). The tinnitus resolved or was
markedly improved after NVD of the eighth cranial nerve in eight patie
nts (80%). Both pulsatile and continuous tinnitus responded well to NV
D. All patients experienced various degrees of sensorineural hearing d
isturbance, but other neurotological examinations provided poor diagno
stic value. Conclusions. It is the authors' opinion that sensorineural
hearing loss and positive findings on magnetic resonance imaging are
the most reliable evidence for the presence of tinnitus caused by NVC
of the eighth cranial nerve.