Pattern of brain blood perfusion in tinnitus patients using technetium-99m SPECT imaging

Background and purpose: Tinnitus is associated with an increased activity in central auditory system as demonstrated by neuroimaging studies. Brain perfusion scanning using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was done to understand the pattern of brain blood perfusion of tinnitus subjects and find the areas which are mostly abnormal in these patients.

Materials and methods: A number of 122 patients with tinnitus were enrolled to this cross-sectional study. They underwent SPECT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain, and the images were fused to find the regions with abnormal perfusion.

Results: SPECT scan results were abnormal in 101 patients (83%). Most patients had bilateral abnormal perfusion (N = 65, 53.3%), and most subjects had abnormality in middle-temporal gyrus (N = 83, 68%) and temporoparietal cortex (N = 46, 37.7%). Patients with multifocal involvement had the least mean age than other 2 groups (patients with no abnormality and unifocal abnormality) (P value = 0.045).

Conclusions: Brain blood perfusion pattern differs in patient with tinnitus than others. These patients have brain perfusion abnormality, mostly in auditory gyrus (middle temporal) and associative cortex (temporoparietal cortex). Multifocal abnormalities might be due to more cognitive and emotional brain centers involvement due to tinnitus or more stress and anxiety of tinnitus in the young patients.