RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the influence of epidural anesthesia on the hearing system in women undergoing normal labor. DESIGN: We examined two groups of patients: women with epidural anesthesia underwent four tests of distortion product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAEs): on admission, and fifteen minutes, one hour, and three hours after the last epidural bolus of local anesthetic. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests were performed on admission, and one hour, and three hours after the last epidural bolus. Women who gave birth without epidural anesthesia underwent DPOAEs tests on admission, during a uterine contraction, during active delivery, and three hours after labor. ABR tests were performed on admission, during a uterine contraction, and three hours after labor. STUDY SAMPLE: twenty patients participated in the study. Twelve gave birth with epidural anesthesia and eight without anesthesia. RESULTS: No significant changes in DPOAEs and ABR recordings were found between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural anesthesia does not impair the sensory or the neural elements of the hearing system and therefore does not influence hearing.
Asunto(s)
Analgésicos Opioides/administración & dosificación , Anestesia Epidural , Anestesia Obstétrica , Anestésicos Locales/administración & dosificación , Vías Auditivas/efectos de los fármacos , Audición/efectos de los fármacos , Trabajo de Parto , Estimulación Acústica , Audiometría de Tonos Puros , Bupivacaína/administración & dosificación , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Potenciales Evocados Auditivos del Tronco Encefálico/efectos de los fármacos , Femenino , Fentanilo/administración & dosificación , Humanos , Israel , Emisiones Otoacústicas Espontáneas/efectos de los fármacos , Embarazo , Estudios Prospectivos , Factores de Tiempo , Contracción UterinaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of tinnitus tests in differentiating patients with functional tinnitus from patients with organic tinnitus. DESIGN: One hundred ninety-six patients with tinnitus were divided into 2 groups. Forty-three patients, group 1, were not exposed to noise and had sensorineural hearing loss. One hundred fifty-three patients, group 2, were exposed to noise and claimed disability. All the patients underwent 4 tinnitus evaluation tests: pitch matching, intensity matching, residual inhibition, and tinnitus masking. We compared the results of the tinnitus tests between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Group 1 patients had a high-frequency, low-intensity tinnitus that tended to be more inhibited by narrow-band noise, was usually consistent with type I Feldman masking curve, and could be effectively masked. Group 2 patients had tinnitus that could not be characterized. The results of the tinnitus tests were significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSION: Tinnitus tests may help us differentiate functional tinnitus that is not of cochlear origin from genuine tinnitus.
