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. 2023 Apr 20:11:1124404.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1124404. eCollection 2023.

Relationship between tinnitus and olfactory dysfunction: audiovisual, olfactory, and medical examinations

Naomi Katayama  1   2 , Tadao Yoshida  2 , Tsutomu Nakashima  3   4   5 , Yasuki Ito  6   7 , Masaaki Teranishi  4   8 , Takeshi Iwase  6   9 , Saiko Sugiura  4   10 , Kensuke Goto  6 , Yasue Uchida  4   11 , Yosuke Taki  6 , Takafumi Nakada  2   8   12 , Ai Tada  6 , Hirokazu Suzuki  4 , Yuta Nakano  6 , Mariko Shimono  4 , Naoki Saji  13 , Anna Kogure  14 , Emiko Shimizu  15 , Michihiko Sone  2 , Nobuyuki Hamajima  5   16
Affiliations

Relationship between tinnitus and olfactory dysfunction: audiovisual, olfactory, and medical examinations

Naomi Katayama et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Sensory dysfunctions and cognitive impairments are related to each other. Although a relationship between tinnitus and subjective olfactory dysfunction has been reported, there have been no reports investigating the relationship between tinnitus and olfactory test results.

Methods: To investigate the relationship between tinnitus and olfactory test results, we conducted sensory tests, including hearing and visual examinations. The subjects included 510 community-dwelling individuals (295 women and 215 men) who attended a health checkup in Yakumo, Japan. The age of the subjects ranged from 40 to 91 years (mean ± standard deviation, 63.8 ± 9.9 years). The participants completed a self-reported questionnaire on subjective tinnitus, olfactory function, and hearing function, as well as their lifestyle. The health checkup included smell, hearing, vision, and blood examinations.

Results: After adjusting for age and sex, the presence of tinnitus was significantly associated with subjective olfactory dysfunction, poor olfactory test results, hearing deterioration, vertigo, and headache. Additionally, high serum calcium levels and a low albumin/globulin ratio were significantly associated with low physical activity and nutrition. Women scored higher than men in olfactory and hearing examinations, but there was no gender difference in vision examinations.

Conclusion: Subjective smell dysfunction and poor smell test results were significantly associated with tinnitus complaints. Hearing and vision were associated even after adjusting for age and sex. These findings suggest that evaluating the mutual relationships among sensory organs is important when evaluating the influence of sensory dysfunctions on cognitive function.

Keywords: alcohol; dietary habits; health checkup; olfactory test; sensory dysfunctions; smoking.

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Conflict of interest statement

Nidek Co., Ltd. provided survey instruments for the vision test during the health checkup. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency of eating and drinking in non-smokers and current smoker among women and men. Ten kinds of food and drink with a significant difference between non-smokers and current smokers after adjusting for age in women and/or men. The y-axis shows the intake frequency divided into 8. If the median intake frequency is within the lower quartile, the box's bottom line is thicker than its top line. Similarly, the box's top line is thicker than its bottom line if the median intake frequency is within the upper quartile. Outliers indicated by dots include multiple individuals. The intake frequency and the number of persons indicated by words are as follows: in 269 female nonsmokers, mushrooms “hardly take”: five, “1/day”: 26, “2/day”: three, “>3/day”: one; carrots “hardly take”: seven, “1/day”: 13, “2/day”: one, “>3/day”: one; pumpkin “5 or 6/week”: five, “1/day”: one; broccoli “>3/day”: one; chicken “5 or 6/week”: eight, “1/day”: two; green and yellow vegetables A “hardly take”: two, “1/day”: 19, “2/day” five, “>3/day”: one. In 26 female smokers, mushrooms “hardly take”: two; potatoes “5 or 6/week”: one; carrots “5 or 6/week”: one; pumpkin “hardly take”: six, “1 or 2/week”: four, “3 or 4/week”: one; broccoli “5 or 6/week”: one; chicken “5 or 6/week”: one; green and yellow vegetables A “5 or 6/week”: one. In 166 male nonsmokers, pumpkin “5 or 6/week”: one; broccoli “5 or 6/week”: two, “1/day”: three, “2/day”: one; chicken “5 or 6/week”: three, “1/day”: three. In 49 male smokers, mushrooms “5 or 6/week”: three, “1/day”: one; potatoes “5 or 6/week”: one; carrots “5 or 6/week”: four; pumpkin “5 or 6 week”: one; broccoli “5 or 6/week”: four; chicken “hardly take”: one, “1/day”: one.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency of eating and drinking in people with and without exercise habits in women and men. Five kinds of food and drink with a significant difference between persons with and without exercise habits after adjusting for age in women and/or men. The y-axis is the same as in Figure 1. The number of people belonging to outliers is as follows: In 102 women with exercise habits, green and yellow vegetables B “1/day”: five. In 192 women without exercise habits, green and yellow vegetables B “hardly take”: three, “1/day”: 13, “2/day”: one, “>3/day”: one; strawberry, kiwi, apple, etc. “>3/day”: one. In 102 males with exercise habits, green and yellow vegetables B “hardly take”: two, “1/day”: four, “2/day”: one; strawberries, kiwis, apples, etc. “5 or 6/week”: five, “1/day”: five, “>3/day”: one. In 113 men without exercise habits, green and yellow vegetables B “5 or 6/week”: six, “1/day”: two, “2/day”: one; strawberries, kiwis, apples, etc. “5 or 6/week”: two, “1/day”: six, “2/day”: one.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relationships between tinnitus, olfactory, hearing, and visual impairments after adjusting for age and sex. Arrows were recognized in this study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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