Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology
-
Case Reports Clinical Trial
Placebo-controlled vagus nerve stimulation paired with tones in a patient with refractory tinnitus: a case report.
Classical neuromodulation consists of applying electrical or magnetic stimuli to the nervous system to modulate ongoing activity and connectivity. However, recently, an exciting novel neuromodulation technique was developed in which stimulation of the vagal nerve was paired with simultaneous presentation of tones, demonstrating that it reverses a tinnitus percept in noise-exposed rats. ⋯ Our results suggest that vagus nerve stimulation paired with tones could become an effective therapy for the treatment of tinnitus.
-
To examine the differences in quality of life for vestibular schwannoma patients undergoing conservative management, gamma knife, and surgery. ⋯ Although surgery groups' significantly larger tumors and worse hearing were apparent in specific PANQOL domains, all patients achieved a similar general level of quality of life.
-
Previous studies have shown that vertigo is the most powerful negative predictor of quality of life in patients with vestibular schwannomas, but the variability in vertigo symptom severity is still poorly understood. We wanted to find out whether vertigo could be related to objective parameters such as tumor size, location, vestibular nerve function, hearing, and postural stability in patients with untreated vestibular schwannomas. ⋯ A minority of VS patients experience severe vestibular symptoms related to canal paresis and postural instability. A curvilinear relationship is hypothesized between tumor size and dizziness.