People with tinnitus report anecdotal difficulties in mental concentration and psychological treatments for tinnitus advise on concentration difficulties and how to manage them. Yet the literature lacks any coherent discussion about what precise theoretical cognitive constructs might be mediating reported concentration problems. This review addresses this gap by describing and critically appraising the behavioural evidence for the effects of tinnitus on cognitive performance (namely working memory and attention). Empirical evidence is somewhat limited, but there is some support that tinnitus interferes with executive attention, and mixed support that it impairs working memory and selective attention. We highlight a number of methodological considerations to help drive the field forward and we propose a putative model of the complex inter-relationships between tinnitus, cognition and confounding factors. This model provides a basis for hypothesis testing.
Eagle's syndrome is an uncommon condition resulting from an elongated styloid process, which causes cervico facial pain, tinnitus and otalgia. A 48-year-old female presented to the clinic with bilateral upper neck pain radiating to the ears with tinnitus for almost one-year duration. Examination of the oral cavity revealed atrophic tonsils and palpable bony projection deep in the tonsillar fossa. Plain lateral neck X-ray and CT scan confirmed the presence of bilateral elongated styloid processes, which were subsequently resected surgically through an oropharyngeal approach. The patient was asymptomatic at follow up at 2 years.