Tinnitus and Ear Obstruction Feeling in Sudden Deafness

In 1739 patients who presented to Nagoya University Hospital between 1972 and 1998 within 2 weeks after the onset of unilateral sudden deafness, relationship between hearing recovery and tinnitus or ear obstruction feeling was investigated. 1542 patients (88.7%) had tinnitus and 833 patients (47.9%) had ear obstruction feeling. Of 197 patients without tinnitus, 124 patients (62.9%) had ear obstruction feeling; the proportion was significantly higher compared to 46.0% in patients with tinnitus. The initial hearing level in patients with tinnitus was worse than that in patients without tinnitus but the final hearing level was not different between patients with and without tinnitus. There were no significant differece in hearing recovery between patients with and without ear obstruction feeling.