Effect of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Subjective Tinnitus

Background: subjective tinnitus is a phantom sensation experienced in the absence of any internal or external acoustic stimulus. At present, tinnitus has become the most common Otologic problem, affecting 15% to 20% of the general population. Objective: To determine if vagus nerve stimulation can improve quality of life in patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) suffering from subjective tinnitus. Patients and Methods: This prospective quasi-experimental study was carried out on 29 patients presented to the Audiovestibular Medicine outpatient clinic in SCU hospital during the period from July 2019 to January 2020. patients complaining from non-pulsatile continuous subjective tinnitus and diagnosed with mild to moderate SNHL were included. The full audiological evaluation was done in addition to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ( 7 sessions) and the severity of tinnitus was assessed before and after TENS stimulation by using the Arabic translation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI) questionnaire. Results±: Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation had elicited a statistically significant decrease in THI score (p < 0.001). females had significantly higher THI scores compared to males before nerve stimulation (p=0.008). Moreover, females were found to have significantly higher THI scores compared to males after nerve stimulation (p=0.037). Conclusion: 1- Transcutaneous Vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS) was effective in reducing THI score denoting reduced handicap in patients with SNHL complaining of tinnitus. 2- Neither participants̕ characteristics nor disease characteristics were associated with a better outcome. 3- Irrespective of age or tinnitus duration, t-VNS could improve tinnitus complaint.