Migraine linked to Tinnitus and Other Cochlear Disorders : JAMA

There may be an increased risk of inner ear disorders, especially ringing in the ears, among patients with a history of a migraine than those without according to a study recently published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. The cumulative incidence of cochlear disorders, especially tinnitus, was found to be significantly higher among patients with the history of migraines than those without a history of migraines.

Juen-Haur Hwang and his associates conducted a study to investigate the risk of cochlear disorders for patients with a history of migraines.

This study used claims data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database to identify 1056 patients with migraines. A total of 4224 controls were also identified from the same database. The incidence rate of cochlear disorders (tinnitus, sensorineural hearing impairment, and/or sudden deafness) was compared between the cohorts by use of the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was also used to examine the association of cochlear disorders with migraines. Of the 1056 patients with migraines, 672 were women and 384 were men.

The study found that:

• Compared with the nonmigraine cohort, the crude hazard ratio for cochlear disorders in the migraine cohort was 2.83 and the adjusted hazard ratio was 2.71.


• The incidence rates of cochlear disorders were 81.4 per 1 million person-years for the migraine cohort and 29.4 per 1 million person-years for the nonmigraine cohort.


• The cumulative incidence of cochlear disorders in the migraine cohort (12.2%) was significantly higher than that in the matched nonmigraine cohort (5.5%).


• Subgroup analysis showed that, compared with the nonmigraine cohort, the adjusted hazard ratios in the migraine cohort were 3.30 for tinnitus, 1.03 for sensorineural hearing impairment, and 1.22 for sudden deafness.

The study concluded that the risk of cochlear disorders, especially for tinnitus, was found to be significantly higher among patients with a history of migraines.

For reference log on to https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2687206