The international tinnitus journal
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Comparative Study
Metabolic disorders in vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss.
Vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss are common complaints among populations of industrial countries, especially in persons older than 40 years. Numerous agents are known to incite vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss, among them hyperinsulinemia, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. In this study, we proposed to assess the occurrence of hyperinsulinemia, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia in patients suffering from vertigo, tinnitus, or hearing loss of unknown origin. ⋯ Hyperinsulinemia was almost twice as common in patients as in controls. Only the occurrence of hyperlipoproteinemia seemed not to differ between patients and control subjects. We conclude that such disturbances of glucose metabolism as diabetes mellitus and hyperinsulinemia may be responsible for inner ear diseases, whereas the role of disturbances of lipid metabolism remains vague.
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Gentamicin is a potentially ototoxic drug routinely used for treatment of life-threatening infectious diseases in neonatology. In study 1, of 8,333 children examined for hearing disorders, 134 (1.6%) had received previous treatment with gentamicin. ⋯ Neither in the number of spontaneous eye movements nor in the means of the nystagmus parameters of the rotatory test did the data show any significant difference between the groups. The results indicate that gentamicin in controlled therapeutic doses has a less ototoxic and vestibulotoxic effect in newborns than it does in older children or in adults.