Subjective Tinnitus in Pediatric and Adolescent Migraine Versus Other Primary Headaches – a Prospective, Comparative Study

Abstract text (incl. figure legends and references)
Background: Subjective tinnitus is perception of sound in the ear, or in the head occurring without an outside acoustic stimulus. Headache and especially migraine has been reported as associated with tinnitus in adults but not in children. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of tinnitus and its associated clinical parameters in pediatric and adolescent migraine versus other primary headaches. Methods: In the pediatric headache clinic of a tertiary hospital, patients aged 8-18 years and their parents were interviewed regarding their headache symptoms and according to a validated tinnitus questionnaire. Patients with tinnitus were referred for audiometry. Results: Of 153 patients, 90 (58.5%) were females; the mean age was 7.9±2.74 years. Ninety-four (61.4%) were diagnosed with migraine and 59 (38.6%) with primary headaches. The rate of tinnitus was significantly higher among patients with migraine than among patients with other primary headaches (47.9% vs 10.2%, p