The evaluation of salivary total thiol groups in patients with idiopathic tinnitus

Background and Objective: Tinnitus is one of the most prevalent disabilities in developed countries; nonetheless understanding the mechanisms of its generation still remain a challenge for physiologists, otolaryngologists and audiologists. The aim of this study was to evaluate total thiol groups in patients with tinnitus in comparison with the control group. Materials and Methods This case-control study was conducted on a series of 40 patients; 20 presenting idiopathic tinnitus, and 20 normal subjects who were matched based on age, sex and pure tone audiometric threshold. After audiometric tinnitus matching tests, saliva samples were taken from each of the subjects and TTG (total thiol groups) measured by HU method. Finally the data were analyzed by Stata Version 11 with Student T-test. Findings: Finally 31 female and 20 male entered to the study (P=0.749). TTG level was 0.31(±0.24) Umol/ml in case group and 0.999 (±1.18) Umol/ml and control group (P=0.013). Conclusion: These results showed that oxidative stress in patients with idiopathic tinnitus may be consequence of an imbalance in oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis. Therefore, it may be useful to recommend antioxidant medications or diet for these patients.

Keywords:

Tinnitus , Oxidative stress , Antioxidant power , Saliva