Omega-3 fatty acids and health of auditory and vestibular systems: a comprehensive review.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to comprehensively review animal and human studies that explore the role of omega-3 PUFAs in maintaining the health of the auditory organ across all life stages. METHODS: This narrative review involved searching Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library databases for relevant articles from December 1980 to July 2023. RESULTS: some animal and human studies suggest that both deficiency and excessive intake of long-chain omega-3 PUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), can lead to auditory neural conduction impairment and reduced hearing acuity from fetal development to old age (presbycusis). These effects are likely to be dependent on the dosage. Some research indicates that an excessive intake of omega-3, rather than a deficiency, can result in nutritional toxicity and hearing impairments. Animal studies highlight the positive impact of omega-3 supplements with high DHA content in addressing hearing damage, but human research on this subject is limited. Furthermore, certain studies propose that omega-3 PUFAs may prevent or delay age-related hearing loss, with high plasma omega-3 concentration, particularly long-chain omega-3 PUFA, linked to reduced hearing loss. Additionally, consuming fish more than twice a week may be associated with a lower risk of hearing loss in adulthood, with these effects potentially influenced by age and gender. However, the majority of studies have been conducted on animals, and clinical trials are scarce. Research on the influence of omega-3 PUFAs on the peripheral and central vestibular systems remains limited. CONCLUSION: This article delves into the impact of omega-3 on the auditory-vestibular system, exploring its influence on neurodevelopment, protection, and treatment. It not only highlights specific research gaps but also offers valuable insights for potential future studies.

Investigating the effectiveness of music therapy combined with binaural beats on chronic tinnitus: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Binaural beat stimulation (BBS) involve presenting two sinusoidal waves with specific frequency differences to induce neural changes in the brain, often used for mental state induction and symptom reduction. However, there are limited studies on its effectiveness for tinnitus. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of combining binaural beats with music containing nature sounds for chronic tinnitus. METHODS: A total of 30 men, aged 45.87 on average (SD = 8.09), who had chronic tinnitus and symmetrical mild to moderate hearing loss, were included in this study. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups: MT group (Music therapy; n = 15), which received relaxing music containing the sound of sea waves, and MT + BBS group (Music therapy plus binaural beats; n = 15), which received the same music combined with alpha frequency (8 Hz) binaural beats. The therapy sessions were conducted twice a day for 15 min, over a period of 4 weeks. Outcome measures, including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the pitch and loudness of tinnitus were administered before, immediately after, and during the three-month follow-up period. RESULTS: The findings revealed improvements in loudness and annoyance VAS, as well as THI total and all subscale scores in both groups (p < 0.001). Additionally, TFI total score showed improvement in both groups (MT: p = 0.001; MT + BBS: p < 0.001) except for the sense of control subscale in both groups and the cognitive subscale in the MT group after the treatment and during the three-month follow-up period. Furthermore, both groups exhibited a decrease in scores for both subscales of HADS. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the measurement outcomes (p > 0.05), except for the emotional subscale scores of TFI (p = 0.049) and the functional subscale scores of THI (p = 0.034). In other words, during the follow-up period, the MT + BBS group exhibited lower scores in these two subscales compared to the MT group. CONCLUSION: Although our study failed to demonstrate the superiority of combining binaural beats with music, both groups experienced significant improvements. This suggest that there are potential benefits to be gained from these types of stimuli. Given the sustained effect of both methods and the even greater improvements in follow-up observed in the binaural beats group for some scales, it seems that the changes in neural response and brain waves caused by our stimulations are persistent. This necessitates further research involving brain mapping, especially with longer follow-up durations.

Efficacy of tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) in the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous treatment modalities have been suggested for managing tinnitus. Tailor-Made Notched Music Training (TMNMT) is a viable strategy in music therapy for tinnitus management. Many research studies have examined the effectiveness and potential benefits of this intervention. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of TMNMT in treating chronic tinnitus. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis study used a research methodology that covered up until February 2023. The search was conducted across academic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of 234 papers were evaluated, and seven relevant clinical trials were included. RESULTS: The meta-analysis, which included five studies using the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), showed no statistically significant effect of TMNMT on tinnitus handicap after 3 and 6 months of intervention (dppc2: - 0.99, 95%CI - 2.94 to 0.96; I2 = 79.96%, p = 0.00), (dppc2 - 1.81, 95%CI - 5.63 to 2.01; I2 = 79.96%, p = 0.00). However, four out of five studies using the total Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) or its subscale showed positive effects of TMNMT on chronic tinnitus. Unfortunately, there were not enough articles to conduct a meta-analysis on this outcome. CONCLUSION: Although the meta-analysis did not show a statistically significant effect of TMNMT on tinnitus handicap, the large effect size observed after at least 3 months of intervention suggests that this method may potentially decrease tinnitus handicap if more studies are conducted. Due to the limited number of studies, subgroup analysis could not be performed to analyze potential causes of heterogeneity. Therefore, further high-quality clinical trials are necessary to draw a definitive conclusion and evaluate the impact of different variables, techniques, and outcomes.

Comparison of the Degree of Handicap Between Different Types of Vestibular Disorders.

Vestibular disorders have had a disabling effect because of the symptoms they cause. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of disability associated with vertigo in patients with different vestibular disorders using a handicap questionnaire and to investigate the possible relationship between some factors with different types of vestibular disorders and vertigo-related handicap scores. 462 subjects aged 12-90 years old with symptoms of vertigo, dizziness, or imbalance were recruited from several public and private centers. After taking the medical history, the patients fillled out the Vertigo Handicap Questionnaire (VHQ). There was a significant difference between the VHQ mean scores of vestibular disorders (p = 0.002). There was also a significant relationship between the male sex and BPPV and blood supply problems, between women with endolymphatic hydrops, vestibular neuritis, VM, CNS disorders, concomitant BPPV, and hydrops, between vestibular disorders and various ranges of hearing. BPPV, neuritis, VM, were also significantly correlated with blood pressure, concomitant BPPV and hydrops, with diabetes and hydrops, and concomitant BPPV and hydrops were significantly correlated with cholesterol. The coexistence of various vestibular disorders may cause additional handicaps and should be considered. Some comorbidities may also affect the degree of handicap, although their effects may not be the same. Various factors in addition to the type of vestibular disorder, such as personality, culture, education level, income, and strategies for coping with the disease, may also determine the level of patient-reported vertigo handicap.

Age-related hearing loss: An updated and comprehensive review of the interventions.

Aging causes progressive degenerative changes in many organs, particularly the auditory system. Several attempts have been conducted to investigate preventive and therapeutic strategy/strategies for age-related auditory dysfunction, such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle through good nutrition, lower anxiety levels, and noise exposure, different pharmacological approaches, gene and cell therapy, and other strategies. However, it is not clear which approach is the best to slow down these dysfunctions because several different underlying mechanistic pathways are associated with presbycusis which eventually leads to different types of this disease. A combination of several methods is probably required, whereas the effectiveness for some people needs to be monitored. The effectiveness of treatments will not be the same for all; therefore, we may need to have a unique and personalized approach to the prevention and treatment of ARHL for each person. In addition, each method needs to specify what type of presbycusis can prevent or treat and provide complete information about the extent, duration of treatment, persistency of treatment, side effects, and whether the approach is for treatment or prevention or even both. This paper reviews the updated literature, which targets current interventions for age-related hearing loss.