Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep/Oct;42(5):1428-1435.
doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001042.

Tinnitus and Its Central Correlates: A Neuroimaging Study in a Large Aging Population

Berthe C Oosterloo  1   2   3 , Pauline H Croll  1   2   4   3 , André Goedegebure  1 , Gennady V Roshchupkin  2   4 , Robert J Baatenburg de Jong  1 , M Arfan Ikram  2 , Meike W Vernooij  2   4
Affiliations

Tinnitus and Its Central Correlates: A Neuroimaging Study in a Large Aging Population

Berthe C Oosterloo et al. Ear Hear. 2021 Sep/Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: To elucidate the association between tinnitus and brain tissue volumes and white matter microstructural integrity.

Design: Two thousand six hundred sixteen participants (mean age, 65.7 years [SD: 7.5 years]; 53.9% female) of the population-based Rotterdam Study underwent tinnitus assessment (2011 to 2014) and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (2011 to 2014). Associations between tinnitus (present versus absent) and total, gray, and white matter volume and global white matter microstructure were assessed using multivariable linear regression models adjusting for demographic factors, cardiovascular risk factors, depressive symptoms, Mini-Mental State Examination score, and hearing loss. Finally, potential regional gray matter density and white matter microstructural volume differences were assessed on a voxel-based level again using multivariable linear regression.

Results: Participants with tinnitus (21.8%) had significantly larger brain tissue volumes (difference in SD, 0.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.06 to 0.13), driven by larger white matter volumes (difference, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.21) independent of hearing loss. There was no association between tinnitus and gray matter volumes nor with global white matter microstructure. On a lobar level, tinnitus was associated with larger white matter volumes in each lobe, not with gray matter volume. Voxel-based results did not show regional specificity.

Conclusions: We found that tinnitus in older adults was associated with larger brain tissue volumes, driven by larger white matter volumes, independent of age, and hearing loss. Based on these results, it may be hypothesized that tinnitus potentially has a neurodevelopmental origin in earlier life independent of aging processes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

B.C.O. reports funding from Heinsius Houbolt. P.H.C., A.G., and R.J.B.J. reports funding from Cochlear Ltd. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

    1. Adjamian P., Hall D. A., Palmer A. R., Allan T. W., Langers D. R. Neuroanatomical abnormalities in chronic tinnitus in the human brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, (2014). 45, 119–133.
    1. Aldhafeeri F. M., Mackenzie I., Kay T., Alghamdi J., Sluming V. Neuroanatomical correlates of tinnitus revealed by cortical thickness analysis and diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroradiology, (2012). 54, 883–892.
    1. Allan T. W., Besle J., Langers D. R., Davies J., Hall D. A., Palmer A. R., Adjamian P. Neuroanatomical alterations in tinnitus assessed with magnetic resonance imaging. Front Aging Neurosci, (2016). 8, 221.
    1. Baguley D., McFerran D., Hall D. Tinnitus. Lancet, (2013). 382, 1600–1607.
    1. Boyen K., Langers D. R., de Kleine E., van Dijk P. Gray matter in the brain: Differences associated with tinnitus and hearing loss. Hear Res, (2013). 295, 67–78.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources