Geriatric otoneurology: Old concepts, current challenges

• Autor(a) principal: Serdoura Alves, Clara
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Santos, Mariline, Reis Rego, Ângela, Azevedo, Sara, Lino, João, Meireles, Luis
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34631/sporl.1013
• topic: Geriatria; Otologia; Otoneurologia; Envelhecimento; Geriatrics; Otology; Otoneurology; Aging

Objective: to determine the prevalence of otoneurologic symptoms among geriatric patients referred for otolaryngology evaluation. Methods: Retrospective observational study including patients aged 65 and older referred from Primary Care to Otolaryngology during 2019 and 2020. Information regarding symptoms underlaying the referral were collected from the referral file. Results: 1304 patients were included, with 65% (n= 852) citing otoneurologic symptoms as one of the motives for referral. Hearing loss was the most common symptom (69%, n= 592), followed by tinnitus (36%, n= 304) and vertigo/dizziness (25%, n= 213). There was a statistically significant association between hearing loss and advanced age (p< 0.001) and between the female sex and vertigo/dizziness (p< 0.001) and tinnitus (p= 0.007). Presbycusis was the most common diagnosis among all patients. Conclusions: this study cements otoneurologic symptoms as central in the geriatric population, highlighting the need for a better preparation for the evaluation of these complaints.