A clinical correlation between hypozincemia and tinnitus.

We examined a group of 115 patients suffering from tinnitus and have attempted to find a statistically significant correlation between the tinnitus experienced and low blood zinc levels (hypozincemia). No particular correlation could be made between the nature of the tinnitus experienced and hypozincemia except for the continuation of head noises, these being more frequently associated with hypozincemia when they are intermittent. Two hypotheses of pathogenesis are proposed to explain this phenomenon and are based on the importance of zinc to the syntheses of enzymes and proteins.