The International Tinnitus Journal

Tinnitus Outcome in Surgery for Vertigo

Tinnitus is an integral component of most neurotological disorders, particularly Meniere's disease. Most reports in the literature regarding surgery for Meniere's disease have focused on the success in vertigo control. In addition to the disabling vertigo, patients with Meniere's disease are quite distraught with tinnitus and commonly ask about the chances of their tinnitus improving following their surgery. The purpose of this paper is to review the tinnitus outcome in patients who had undergone surgery for the control of disabling vertigo from Meniere's disease. While the indications for surgery in these patients were the control of vertigo and not tinnitus, it is helpful to recognize the different tinnitus response rates comparing the three main procedures reviewed, namely, the destructive labyrinthectomy, the endolymphatic sac decompression and shunt, and the vestibular neurectomy. The availability of such data could play a role in the choice of surgery when tinnitus is a major symptom.