Tinnitus as a symptom of acoustic neuroma Danuta Raj-Koziak * , Graz ˙yna Bartnik, Anna Fabijan ´ska, Beata Borawska, Henryk Skarz ˙yn ´ski, Marek Rogowski, Krzysztof Kochanek Tinnitus Clinic, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw 01-943, Pstrowskiego 1, Poland Abstract Tinnitus is a common clinical symptom. In Poland, it affects about 20% of our population. Constant tinnitus is present in about 5% of people over 17 years old. In most cases, discordant damage of outer and inner hair cells may be the cause of tinnitus generation. One of the possible, but rarely observed, causes of tinnitus is acoustic neuroma. After medical and audiological evaluation, we found that among 2600 of our patients suffering from unilateral or bilateral tinnitus, 10 patients have acoustic neuroma. D 2003 International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS). All rights reserved. Keywords: Tinnitus; Acoustic neuroma 1. Introduction Tinnitus is a common clinical symptom. In Poland, tinnitus affects about 20% of our population. Constant tinnitus is present in about 5% of people over 17 years old [1]. In most cases, discordant damage of outer and inner hair cells may be the cause of tinnitus generation [2,3]. One possible, but rarely observed, cause of tinnitus is acoustic neuroma. The most common symptom observed in patients with acoustic neuroma is a progressive asymmetric or unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Less common symptoms are tinnitus, sudden hearing loss, distorted sound perception, or dizziness or disequilibrium [4]. Benign tumors are usually located along the vestibular nerve. Vestibular Schwannoma can produce serious morbidity by the compression of cranial nerves and, in the next stage, vital structures because of its localization. 0531-5131/ D 2003 International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS). All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0531-5131(03)00720-9 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +48-22-864-0887; fax: +48-22-835-6380. E-mail address: d.koziak@ifps.org.pl (D. Raj-Koziak). International Congress Series 1240 (2003) 313 – 315