Ear Complaints in Fibromyalgia: A Narrative Review

Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) have innumerable complaints due to the central amplification of somatic stimuli. The aim of this paper was to review the ear complaints in patients with FM.

A review of articles published in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus from 1966 to June 2023 was performed.

Seventeen papers were included in the review. They showed that patients with FM have a higher hearing loss rate, mostly at high frequencies, and hyperacusis. The prevalence of vestibular symptoms (tinnitus, dizziness) and hyperacusis was higher than in the general population, reaching 87.0% of the sample. Subjective findings did not always correspond to objective results. In some studies, the degree of FM severity was associated with ear symptoms; in others, it was not.

Ear complaints in patients with FM are linked to subjacent disease and may be related to stimuli central amplification.