Otoacoustic emission latency and hearing loss

Millions of people have the perception of sounds when no external sound is present: for many of them the“TINNITUS” (medical word from Latin) or “ACUFENE” (from Greek) is the trouble so severe to alter their quality of lifedeeply. Starting from 1998 we are carrying on with success an integral program of diagnosis, medical and rehabilitant treatment of the Tinnitus with a new multi therapeutic approach, without hospitalisation.In the presentation we would like to illustrate the program to give to many people, who live without any help to solve theirown problems, hope of recovery.We are working following two main stages with subdivisions: A 1) preliminary explicative and A2) to frame the patient clinically and diagnostically then B) therapeutics. The statistics on few hundreds of patients show a very encouragingsuccess. The TINNITUS is a real difficult problem that, with a correct but complex approach, can be solved to give peoplea reasonable good quality of life. TINNITUS: NEW MULTITHERAPEUTIC APPROAC As we know “tinnitus” (or “acufene” from Greek) isthe perception of sounds, ringing, hissing or anyother sound when no external signal is present.Practically every one had experience of tinnitus justlike a temporary nuisance, but, for millions of peopleit is a life altering condition.Many patients are so seriously debilitated to ask formedical assistance because they can not have anormal life.Still on our days we can found physicians who say tothe patient with tinnitus: “there is nothing to do foryour problem, you have to live with!”The exact physiological causes of tinnitus are notwell known but we begin to understand many things.There are some likely sources known to trigger orworsen tinnitus: noise induced hearing loss (90% oftinnitus patients), wax in the ear canal, ear or sinusinfections, cardiovascular disease, jaw misalignment,thyroid disorders, mechanical trauma (head andneck), Ménière’s disease (with violent attack ofvertigo), acoustic neuroma, etc.We say that the Tinnitus can have two origins:• Extrinsic: vascular cause, muscular, from secretion,from joints and arthritis, otosclerosis, etc.• Intrinsic o “idiopathic”: identifiable in auditive neuro-sensorial or without apparent cause. With Extrinsic tinnitus we have to follow the traditional medical approach (clinic, pharmacologicalor surgical).With Intrinsic or “idiopathic” tinnitus we got very good results with AIRS “Tinnitus IntegratedProgram” TIP Therapy based on the deep analysis ofthe global hearing mechanism.We started to work at the problem in 1985 withresearch on Cochlear mechanics and SpontaneousOtoacoustic Emission.In 1995, Prof. G. Cianfrone and me, founded theItalian Association for Research on Hearing Loss,A.I.R.S., and we started the first integrated andmultitreatment approach on Tinnitus.In the past, before the 1998, in our first experience,we had 32% of patients with improvements, 64%unchanged and 4% worse. TINNITUS THERAPY BEFORE 1998