The characteristics of cognitive impairment in subjective chronic tinnitus

Abstract

IntroductionSubjective chronic tinnitus is a common medical syndrome with a high frequency of cognitive impairment; however, the characteristics of cognitive impairment in chronic tinnitus are poorly understood. Investigating the scope of cognitive impairment across the severity spectrum of tinnitus patients may shed light on the issue.MethodsA consecutive series of 207 subjective chronic tinnitus patients were classified into mild tinnitus group (n = 95) and severe tinnitus group (n = 112) by THI score (the cutoff THI scores were 37/38). These patients were assessed using the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) and P300 event‐related potential.ResultsAlthough pure tone averages were not different between mild or severe tinnitus patients, severe tinnitus patients scored lower on the CASI assessment as well as almost all subdomains of CASI, particularly in items such as “short‐term memory,” “concentration or mental manipulation,” “orientation,” “abstraction and judgment,” “language abilities,” and “visual construction.” Furthermore, compared to mild tinnitus patients, severe tinnitus patients exhibited longer N2 and P3 latencies. Finally, a correlation analysis revealed that tinnitus severity was negatively correlated with CASI score and positively correlated with N2 and P3 latencies.ConclusionsThis study reveals that tinnitus patients on the severe end of the spectrum may be at risk for serious cognitive deficits, which may not be a secondary response to disease manifestations but a primary feature of the underlying disease.

Beyond Hearing Loss: Does Tinnitus Cause Cognitive Impairment?

“…In a similar Chinese study, baseline characteristics (e.g., age, sex, educational level, and hearing threshold) did not show significant relationships with tinnitus severity [3]. In line with the findings of Lee et al, [2] that study also found that patients with severe tinnitus (THI ≥38) exhibited distinct cognitive deficits, as evaluated using the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument.…”

Neurocognition of Aged Patients With Chronic Tinnitus: Focus on Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…Similarly, one study reported that patients with severe tinnitus presented with lower scores during cognitive ability screening assessments in almost all subdomains, as compared to mild or moderate tinnitus patients [14]. Moreover, tinnitus severity was negatively correlated with cognition and positively correlated with N2 and P3 latencies of the P300 event-related potential (ERP) [14]. Given that ERPs provide an objective evaluation of attention domains, an increase in tinnitus severity might adversely impact cognitive performance via auditory inattention, which may in turn potentiate cognitive deficits.…”

“…In this regard, the increase in tinnitus severity may negatively affect attentional orientation and executive control, reducing cognitive processing speed [6]. Similarly, one study reported that patients with severe tinnitus presented with lower scores during cognitive ability screening assessments in almost all subdomains, as compared to mild or moderate tinnitus patients [14]. Moreover, tinnitus severity was negatively correlated with cognition and positively correlated with N2 and P3 latencies of the P300 event-related potential (ERP) [14].…”

“…Despite the existence of putative evidence between tinnitus and cognitive deficits, only a few published studies have yet explored the cognitive function of chronic tinnitus patients [11,12,14,15]. Notably, there was no study that suggested the possible association between chronic tinnitus and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).…”

Tinnitus: Una patología cerebral

“…Existe evidencia conductual, estudios imagenológicos y electrofisiológicos acerca de la estrecha relación entre tinnitus y la alteración de funciones cognitivas y emocionales. Wang y cols 38 , aplicaron un instrumento de tamizaje de capacidades cognitivas (Cognitive abilities screening instrument, CASI) a pacientes con tinnitus. Este instrumento evalúa atención, concentración, orientación, memoria de corto plazo, capacidades lingüísticas, capacidades visuo-constructivas, fluencia verbal, abstracción y juicio.…”