Pediatric tinnitus (a thesis revisited)

Although the literature teems with articles on tinnitus in adults, it appears that investigations on tinnitus in children are few and far between. A survey of the literature revealed that, spanning 11 years since our first article (Nodar, 1972), only the work of Graham (1981) specifically addressed tinnitus in children (Table I). In a recent publication, McFadden (1982) dedicated two paragraphs to tinnitus in children, citing the two studies mentioned above. It is apparent that McFadden either did not read or did not understand at least one of the articles (Nodar, 1972) since his figures are grossly erroneous. The previous observations, coupled with gentle prodding from Dr. A. Schulman (New York), led to this report which will address three issues: (1) our first study of tinnitus in children; (2) a recent study of tinnitus in children; and (3) a philosophical discussion of the phenomenon we call tinnitus, our approach to its investigation, and why relief from it is evasive, inconsistent and often non-existent.