Photophobia and Phonophobia in Meniere's Disease

DU Juan; WU Ziming; LIU Xingjian; DU Yi; LI Wen

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-2922.2017.06.007

Abstract：Objective To report photophobia and phonophobia in patients with Meniere's disease and discuss their mechanisms of pathogenesis and significance in diagnosis and treatment.Methods This retrospective study includ-ed 105 cases of Meniere's disease with reliable description of symptoms.Patient gender,age,hearing loss and migraine symptoms in relation with photophobia and phonophobia were analyzed.Results Sixty three of the 105 cases (60%) presented with photophobia and/or phonophobia.Of the 44 male cases,21(47.7%)complained of photophobia and/or phonophobia,while photophobia and/or phonophobia were reported in 42 of the female 61 cases(68.9%).The differ-ence was statistically significant(P<0.05).The occurrence rate of photophobia and/or phonophobia was 100%(2/2)in patients who were 20 years old or younger,54.5%(12/22)in those who were 20-40 years old,63.0%(34/54)in those 41-60 years old and 55.6%(15/27)in patients older than 61 years(P>0.05).The occurrence rate of photophobia and/or phonophobia was 62.5%(5/8)for average hearing threshold of 25 dB HL or better,46.7%(14/30)when the threshold was 26-40 dB HL,68.0%(34/50)when 41-70 dB HL and 58.8%(10/17)when it was higher than 70 dB HL(P>0.05).In cases with migraine symptoms,the occurrence rate of photophobia and/or phonophobia was 68.8%(22/32),similar to those without migraine symptoms(56.2%,41/73),showing no correlation among these symptoms.Conclusion Report of photophobia and phonophobia in Meniere's disease is more common in women with than in men,with no significant correlation with age,hearing loss or migraine symptoms.It may be related to the pathologic mechanisms of Meniere' disease,central regulation and concurrent central dysfunctions.