Cataract Surgery and Tinnitus

I'm due to have cataract surgery within the next year and will probably have it done immediately after the New Year.

Has anyone here had cataract surgery whilst already having tinnitus? Did the surgery worsen the tinnitus?

I'm asking because the surgery involves using high-frequency ultrasound to break up the cataract, and from searching this site I have found one person whose tinnitus was made worse. @Tony Phylactou

In addition, eye drops are often used before, during (local anaesthetic) and after the surgery, and I wondered if they could cause tinnitus to worsen? Are there any that are non ototoxic?

Then I may need a pain killer after the operation. Again, any non ototoxic ones?

Is it worth or advisable to use antioxidants before the operation as a way of preempting any side effects?

Finally, is it better to go for laser cataract removal or manual? Both involve using ultrasound as I understand it.

Any advice and experiences are welcome. Thanks.

 

Hi, I had cataract surgery on March 11, and had to take 3 kinds of eye drops for a few weeks afterwards.

It had no effect on my tinnitus.

 

One detail I forgot, out of habit, since I have had 3 surgeries in the last 10 months, before they put me to sleep, I put on my custom ear plugs, just in case. With cataract surgery, pain medication is usually not needed afterwards. For our condition, you probably can’t have a less risky type of surgery.

 

Thanks.

How is your sight in that eye now? Any complications?

 

Hi, none at all. The vision cleared up within a day of the surgery, and all I need is a new eye glass prescription. Not everyone has instant clear vision I was told. However, most people do very well after the surgery. Good luck.

 

Good to hear.

My main worry is the eye drops, as many people on this site seem to have either gotten tinnitus or had an increase in their tinnitus due to various eye drops.

 

I personally had no trouble with the eye drops. The one thing I will say is that if I missed my eye with the eye drops and it went on my skin, I was always ready with a wet paper towel wash it off.

 

Increased risk of tinnitus in patients with early-onset cataracts: a nationwide population-based case-control study

Background

This study aimed to investigate the association between early-onset cataract and tinnitus using a population-based database.

Methods

Retrospective claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were analysed. Study subjects comprised patients with early-onset cataract, aged 20–55 years and diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 (n = 2084) and a comparison cohort without the disease (n = 8336). Both cohorts were followed until 2010 to estimate the incidence of tinnitus. To calculate the risk of tinnitus in the case and control groups, Cox proportional hazards models were used and presented as hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted HRs (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Patients with early-onset cataract had 1.53-fold increased risk (HR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.17–2.01, p < 0.01) of developing tinnitus than controls. The number of patients with vertigo (p < 0.0001), insomnia (p < 0.0001), anxiety (p < 0.0001) and hearing loss (p < 0.0001) as comorbidities was also significantly higher in the case group. After adjusting for age, sex and all listed comorbidities, patients with increasing age (aHR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02–1.07), early-onset cataract (aHR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.01–1.74), vertigo (aHR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.15–2.67), insomnia (aHR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.14–1.93) and hearing loss (aHR = 6.20, 95% CI = 3.58–10.70) had significantly higher risk of tinnitus.

Conclusions

Patients with early-onset cataract are at an increased risk of developing tinnitus in subsequent years and should receive further evaluation for early diagnosis and management if any signs of tinnitus occur.

Full article: https://bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-020-01497-8