Academic Journal
Migraine impairs the auditory protective mechanism: a potential biomarker.
| Τίτλος: | Migraine impairs the auditory protective mechanism: a potential biomarker. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Huang M; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.; Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People's Republic of China., Xiong G; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. xguanx@mail.sysu.edu.cn.; Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People's Republic of China. xguanx@mail.sysu.edu.cn., Wang X; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. wangxren@mail.sysu.edu.cn.; Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People's Republic of China. wangxren@mail.sysu.edu.cn. |
| Πηγή: | The journal of headache and pain [J Headache Pain] 2026 Jun 05; Vol. 27 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 05. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100940562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1129-2377 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 11292369 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Headache Pain Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: [2018]- : [London, United Kingdom] : BioMed Central Original Publication: Milano : Springer Verlag Italia, c2000-c2017. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Migraine Disorders*/physiopathology , Migraine Disorders*/complications , Migraine Disorders*/diagnosis , Tinnitus*/physiopathology , Tinnitus*/epidemiology , Reflex, Acoustic*/physiology , Auditory Pathways*/physiopathology, Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous/physiology ; Auditory Threshold/physiology ; Cochlea/physiopathology ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adult ; Biomarkers ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Migraine is a prevalent neurological disorder frequently accompanied by auditory symptoms such as tinnitus and hyperacusis. While their associations suggest shared neural mechanisms, objective evidence regarding the specific involvement of brainstem-mediated auditory efferent pathways in migraine remains limited. The medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) and the middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR) are two key auditory protective mechanisms, yet their integrity in migraine patients remains to be investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the functional integrity of the MOCR and MEMR pathways in migraine patients with and without comorbid tinnitus. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 143 participants were classified into four groups based on strict diagnostic criteria: healthy controls (HC, n = 44), tinnitus-only (T, n = 49), migraine-only (M, n = 25), and migraine with tinnitus (TM, n = 25). Groups were matched for age, sex, and hearing thresholds. All participants underwent comprehensive audiological assessments, including pure-tone audiometry, ipsilateral and contralateral acoustic reflex threshold (ART) testing to assess MEMR function, and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) with contralateral suppression evaluation to assess MOCR function. Results: The migraine group (M) demonstrated significantly elevated contralateral ART (indicating MEMR impairment) at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz (p < 0.001) and globally reduced DPOAE suppression (reflecting MOCR dysfunction) (p < 0.001) compared to healthy controls. The TM group exhibited a similar pattern of MOCR and MEMR dysfunction to the M group, with no significant additive effect from tinnitus comorbidity. A clear gradient of contralateral ART impairment was observed across groups: HC < T < (M ≈ TM). Ipsilateral ART results showed less consistent abnormalities. Conclusion: Migraine may be associated with specific dysfunction of brainstem auditory efferent pathways, particularly affecting both MOCR and MEMR systems, independent of peripheral hearing status. The convergent abnormalities in migraine patients with and without tinnitus indicate that auditory efferent disruption may be an intrinsic component of migraine pathophysiology. These findings support the potential of contralateral ART as an objective biomarker of migraine-related auditory pathway involvement, highlighting the clinical value of auditory assessment in migraine management and providing insights for the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethical approval: The ethics committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (No. [2020]062) reviewed and approved this study. In accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, all participants provided written informed consent before data collection. Requests for reprints: Xianren Wang at the Department of Otolaryngology, the first affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. E-mail: wangxren@mail.sysu.edu.cn. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Grant Information: | 2024A1515010755 Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Acoustic reflex; CGRP; Migraine; Tinnitus |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Biomarkers) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260605 Date Completed: 20260813 Latest Revision: 20260906 |
| Update Code: | 20260906 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13471409 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s10194-026-02414-y |
| PMID: | 42249307 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1129-2377 |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s10194-026-02414-y |