[Tinnitus in young patients up to 35-years old]. / Szumy uszne u osób mlodych do 35 roku zycia.

According to our observations tinnitus is becoming increasingly common amongst younger persons. About 25% of patients registered in our Tinnitus Clinic, are below the age of 35. Group of 235 tinnitus patients ranging in age from 18 to 35 years old were evaluated for this study. There were no other pre-selection criteria except the age. All of the patients answered the questions concerned with the cause of tinnitus. The results of our research indicate that infections (68.5%), noise exposure (27.7%) and stress (23.4%) are the most frequent cause of tinnitus among patients below 35 years.

[Analysis of the distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and input/output function (I/O) in tinnitus patient with normal hearing]. / Analiza sygnalu i funkcji wzrostu otoemisji produktów znieksztalcen nieliniowych slimaka u pacjentów z szumem usznym i prawidlowa czuloscia sluchu.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) has been used as a tool to determine the presence of cochlear pathology. It is well known that the damage of Outer Hair Cells (OHCs) results in reduced auditory sensitivity and generation of tinnitus. At the same time tinnitus arises in normal hearing persons as well. The aim of this study was the assessment of the DPOEA amplitude and the behavior of DP I/O function in tinnitus patients with normal hearing threshold. The group of 48 tinnitus patients (92 ears) with normal hearing threshold and the control group of 30 normal hearing patients (40 ears) were investigated for this study. All subjects have undergone the measurement of DPOAE and DP I/O functions for frequencies: 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. In the tinnitus group there were observed the decrease in DPOAE amplitude for some frequencies and the steeper slope of I/O function. This means that the places with localized damage or dysfunction of OHCs on the basilar membrane can be responsible for the origin of tinnitus.