Academic Journal
Asymmetry of vestibular pathways predicts upper-brainstem auditory imbalance in subjective somatosensory tinnitus: A tract-specific chronological reorganization model.
| Τίτλος: | Asymmetry of vestibular pathways predicts upper-brainstem auditory imbalance in subjective somatosensory tinnitus: A tract-specific chronological reorganization model. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Kurt D; Department of Audiology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences, 06100 Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey., Sendesen E; Department of Audiology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences, 06100 Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: esersendesen@hacettepe.edu.tr., Türkyılmaz MD; Department of Audiology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences, 06100 Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey. |
| Πηγή: | Hearing research [Hear Res] 2026 Oct; Vol. 480, pp. 109774. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 10. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7900445 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-5891 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03785955 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Hear Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Tinnitus*/physiopathology , Tinnitus*/diagnosis , Tinnitus*/psychology , Auditory Pathways*/physiopathology , Brain Stem*/physiopathology , Vestibular System*/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem*, Humans ; Adult ; Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials ; Female ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Acoustic Stimulation ; Time Factors ; Auditory Threshold ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Functional Laterality |
| Περίληψη: | Objective: This study evaluated subcortical auditory and peripheral vestibular pathway alterations in normal-hearing individuals with unilateral subjective somatic tinnitus, isolating cross-modal electrophysiological relationships using an intra-subject, internally controlled paradigm. Methods: Twenty-four participants (aged 17-61 years) with unilateral subjective somatic tinnitus and symmetric normal hearing thresholds (≤15 dB HL across 0.125-8 kHz) underwent auditory brainstem response (ABR), cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) testing. Mathematically normalized Interaural Asymmetry Indices (AI) isolated side-specific neural imbalances. Results: Conventional audiological profiles, middle ear compliance, and absolute ABR parameters (waves I-V) displayed interaural symmetry (p > .05). Conversely, absolute oVEMP evaluations demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in P1-N1 peak-to-peak amplitudes within the tinnitus-affected ears (M = 4.23 µV, SD = 2.98) relative to the healthy contralateral ears (M = 5.76 µV, SD = 4.72, p = .014), while absolute cVEMP parameters remained balanced (p = .396). Correlation analysis of normalized indices revealed a strong positive relationship between cVEMP AI and ABR wave V AI (r(22) = .555, p = .005). Multiple linear regression modeling showed that combined vestibulocollic (cVEMP) and vestibulo-ocular (oVEMP) neural asymmetries significantly predicted upper-brainstem auditory asymmetry at the level of the inferior colliculus, F(2, 21) = 8.66, p = .002, accounting for 45.2% of the variance in ABR wave V asymmetry (R2 = .452). Tinnitus chronicity showed an exploratory positive correlation with cVEMP AI (r(22) = .456, unadjusted p = .025; did not survive FDR correction). Conclusion: Unilateral subjective somatic tinnitus appears to involve tract-specific subcortical electrophysiological asymmetries. We discuss these side-specific differences within a chronological reorganization framework. While acute ascending vestibulo-ocular suppression marks the initial gating failure, a progressively deepening descending vestibulocollic imbalance is strongly associated with upper auditory brainstem asymmetry. These outcomes validate combined VEMP indices as objective biomarkers and provide a neurophysiological rationale for future interventional trials to test whether early targeted bimodal neuromodulation can effectively reset subcortical hyperactivity before persistent neuroplastic consolidation. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Asymmetry index; Auditory brainstem response (ABR); Multisensory integration; Neuroplasticity; Subjective somatic tinnitus; Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260814 Date Completed: 20260901 Latest Revision: 20260913 |
| Update Code: | 20260914 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.heares.2026.109774 |
| PMID: | 42600509 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
καταχωρήστε σχόλιο πρώτοι!