Audiological Findings in Patients with Vestibular Migraine and Migraine: History of Migraine May Be a Cause of Low-Tone Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the auditory findings in migraine, vestibular migraine (VM), and healthy controls. Methods: Twenty-eight migraine patients (56 ears), 18 VM (36 ears), and 25 healthy controls (50 ears) were included. Audiometry, speech discrimination scores, distortion product optoacoustic emission (DPOAE), and auditory brainstem response were tested. Results: The pure tone in the VM group showed higher thresholds at lower frequencies (250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 Hz) than the control group, with statistical differences observed (P_{250 Hz} = 0.001, P_{500 Hz} = 0.003, P_{1,000 Hz} = 0.016, P_{2,000 Hz} = 0.002). Compared with the healthy controls, the patients with VM had significantly lower amplitudes of DPOAE at 1 kHz (p < 0.001) and 2 kHz (p = 0.020), and the patients with migraine had lower amplitudes at 2 kHz (p = 0.042). Compared with the control group, the patients with migraine reported prolonged latency of wave V (p = 0.016) and IPL I–V (p = 0.003). The patients with VM had significant prolongation of IPL I–V (p = 0.024). Conclusion: Not only the peripheral, but also the central auditory system was involved in patients with migraine and VM. In particular, lower frequencies of the auditory system were more likely to be involved in VM. The history of migraine may be a cause of low-tone sudden sensorineural hearing loss.