Depressive disorders in relation to neurootological complaints like vertigo, dizziness, hearingloss and tinnitus
Abstract
Depression is a mental state of depressed mood characterised by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of “the blues” through dysthymia to major depression. It in many ways resembles the grief and mourning that follow bereavement. There are often feelings of low self-esteem, guilt, and somatic symptoms such as eating and sleep disturbances.
Endogenous depression defines any depression that is not a reactive depression. The term implies that some intrinsic biological process rather than environmental influences is the cause. Endogenous depression has been identified with a specific symptom complex – psychomotor retardation, early morning awakening, weight loss, excessive guilt, and lack of reactivity to the environment – that is roughly equivalent to major depression or major depression with melancholia, although there is not much correlation between this symptom complex and the presence or absence of precipitating life events. Reactive depression means a depression that is precipitated by stressful life event.
In the field of depression an overlapping medical activity between psychiatry and neurootology nowadays is to be seen.
Our sample comprises 134 cases (39,55% males, 60,45% females), who were either classified by psychiatrists or neurologists to suffer from depression.
Evaluating our history NODEC in the chapter of the 6 principle vertigo symptoms a frequency of 2,10 signs per patient were found. When extending the list to 11 vertigo and nausea signs together 2,93 signs per case were exhibited.
All the patients underwent an objective and quantitative neurootometric analysis. The following rates of abnormal findings were observed: butterfly calorigram of polygraphic ENG 69,40%, stepping-CCGs 69,40%, bone conductional pure tone audiometry of the right 28,36% and of the left ear 36,57%.