The Analysis of the Relationship Between Subjective Tinnitus and Vascular Loop, and Age and Gender Distribution: An MRI Study
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the age and gender distribution of tinnitus and vascular loop adjacent to the eighth nerve and the relationship between tinnitus symptom and vascular loop in a large patient group.
Methods: The study was conducted on 606 measurements, including the right and left sides, of a total of 303 cases. Noninvasive evaluation of the microvascular structures at the cerebellopontine angle or in the internal auditory canal was performed using magnetic resonance imaging.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of tinnitus and vascular loop among the age groups and gender (p>0.05). Tinnitus and vascular loop were observed in 225 (37.1%) and 111 (18.32%) cases (n=606), respectively. The presence of a vascular loop was not found to be correlated with tinnitus (p>0.05). Vascular loop also demonstrated a high incidence in cases without tinnitus (20.2%).
Conclusion: The simple neurovascular contact is not a rare finding, and it does not appear to cause tinnitus. Therefore, further investigations that will be conducted on cases with vascular loop leading to neural angulation or displacement may contribute to case selection for microvascular decompression operations.
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