Associations among Audiometric, Doppler Hydroacoustic, and Subjective Outcomes of Venous Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Objective: Venous pulsatile tinnitus (PT) has received increasing attention recently. As analyses of psychophysical and neuropsychological dimensions of venous PT are lacking, this study aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the correlation among audiometric, hydroacoustic, and subjective outcomes in patients with PT.

Methods: Fifty-five venous PT patients, with or without sigmoid sinus wall anomalies (SSWAs), were subdivided into SSWAs (n = 30) and non-SSWAs (n = 25) groups. Audiometric and hemodynamic evaluations were assessed. Questionnaires including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) were deployed to evaluate the psychological impacts of PT.

Results: Among 55 subjects, PT frequency-related pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was significantly different between ipsilesional non-PT frequency-related PTA (p < 0.01), ipsilateral jugular vein compression PTA (p < 0.01), and contralesional ear PTA (p < 0.01). In contrast with the pulsatility index and flow velocity, bilateral EOET and flow volume were significantly different (p < 0.01). Of the 3 questionnaire types, there was a strong correlation between HADS anxiety and AIS scores (r = 0.658, p < 0.01). The duration of PT was not correlated with subjective outcomes, and there was no statistical significance found among audiometric, hemodynamic, and subjective outcomes between SSWAs and non-SSWAs groups.

Conclusions: (1) The duration of PT was irrelevant to the increase of PTA. (2) Venous PT is the perception of vascular flow sound, in which hydroacoustic characteristics can be highly independent. (3) Anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders commonly prevail among PT patients.