Inner Ear Symptoms Are Prevalent in Patients with High Head Abbreviated Injury Scale Scores after Blunt Head Trauma

Introduction: The purpose of this article was to determine the prevalence of inner ear symptoms in patients with blunt head trauma and to explore whether the severity of head trauma was associated with the incidence of such symptoms. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 56 patients admitted with blunt head trauma who underwent audiovestibular evaluation within 1 month after injury. Two scales were used to measure the severity of trauma; these were the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and the Head Abbreviated Injury Scale (H-AIS). Patients with sensorineural-type hearing loss, or dizziness with nystagmus, were considered to have inner ear symptoms. Results: About half of all patients (45%) with blunt head trauma showed trauma-related inner ear symptoms. Patients with inner ear symptoms were significantly more likely to have H-AIS scores >= 4 than those without inner ear symptoms (p = 0.004), even without concomitant temporal bone fracture (p > 0.05). Also, patients with inner ear symptoms required a statistically significantly longer time (measured from admission) before undergoing their ontological evaluations than did those without such symptoms (p = 0.002), possibly due to prolonged bed rest and use of sedatives. Conclusion: Thus, detailed history-taking and early evaluation using trauma scales are essential for all patients suffering from severe head trauma. It may be necessary to initiate early treatment of traumatic inner ear diseases.