BACKGROUND/AIMS

Tinnitus is a common medical problem that disrupts patient comfort. The majority of the reasons accused in the etiology of tinnitus are unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the serology of the viruses, especially antibodies, related to Herpes Simpleks Virus (HSV), Varisella Zoster Virus (VZV), Cytomegalovius (CMV), Ebstein Barr Virus (EBV), measles, mumps, rubella, toxoplasma, and parvovirus B19 in patients with tinnitus. We think that viral infections may be an important factor in tinnitus.

MATERIAL and METHODS

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests were done for both immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. For statistical evaluation, the SPSS 15 program was used.

RESULTS

We found HSV-1 IgM/IgG and anti-VZV IgM/IgG seropositivity as 0% and 80% and 0% and 90%, respectively. Anti-CMV IgM and CMV IgG antibodies were detected as 0% and 100%, respectively, and Ebstein Barr Virus Viral Capsid Antigen (EBV VCA) IgM, EBV VCA IgG, Ebstein Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen (EBNA) IgM, and EBNA IgG seropositivity as 0%, 90%, 0%, and 95%, respectively. Anti-rubella IgM and IgG antibodies were detected as 0% and 90%, respectively. We found anti-measles IgM/IgG and anti-mumps IgM/IgG seropositivity as 2.5% and 80% and 2.5% and 87.5%, respectively. We determined anti-toxoplasma IgM/IgG antibodies as 0% and 40%, respectively, and parvovirus B19 IgM/IgG seropositivity as 5% and 95%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Infections may be a cause for tinnitus. When our results were compared with both international and national studies for parvovirus serology, higher rates for parvovirus B19 seropositivity have been observed in patients with tinnitus in our study. More comprehensive and more patients included in the studies may contribute to the literature.

Keywords: Parvovirus B19, seroprevalence, tinnitus, viral infections