Craniomandibular disorders and somatosensory tinnitus-diagnostics and treatment strategies.

BACKGROUND

Somatosensory tinnitus (ST) is a type of tinnitus where changes in somatosensory input from the head-neck area influence factors of a patient's tinnitus. As there are often several influencing factors, identifying an evident somatosensory influence is challenging. As a result, not all patients who might benefit from ST treatment are referred and not all patients who are referred will actually benefit from ST treatment.

OBJECTIVE

This article presents an overview of current knowledge on diagnosis and treatment strategies in patients with craniomandibular-related ST.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A literature search was performed in December 2023 to collect all relevant articles related to diagnosis or treatment options for patients with craniomandibular-related ST.

RESULTS

The included articles showed a set of 16 diagnostic criteria for ST. One follow-up article presents a decision tree that can help diagnose ST with an accuracy of 82.2%, a sensitivity of 82.5%, and a specificity of 79%. Patients can be successfully treated using musculoskeletal therapy. This type of treatment can be directed at cervical spine dysfunctions, temporomandibular disorders, or both. Other techniques have been suggested but need further investigation for definitive conclusions. In most cases, ST treatment shows a decrease in tinnitus severity or loudness.

CONCLUSION

Craniomandibular-related ST can be recognized using a four-item decision tree, with an accuracy of 82.2%. Afterwards, multimodal musculoskeletal physical therapy, aiming to restore normal craniomandibular function, can be used to treat patients with ST.