Am J Psychiatry 1994; 151:1223-1225
Copyright © 1994 by American Psychiatric Association
Panic in otolaryngology patients presenting with dizziness or hearing loss
DB Clark, BE Hirsch, MG Smith, JM Furman and RG Jacob
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Presbyterian University Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
This study compared 50 patients presenting to an otolaryngology clinic with
a complaint of dizziness and 50 patients presenting with hearing loss on
questionnaire measures of panic, phobic avoidance, generalized anxiety, and
depression. Clinical and laboratory evaluations of vestibular and
audiological complaints were also completed. Twenty percent of the group
with dizziness and none of the group with hearing loss reported symptoms
that met DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder. Patients with dizziness and
peripheral vestibulopathy had more symptoms of phobic avoidance,
generalized anxiety, and depression than patients with confirmed hearing
loss.
