Depressive disorders in relation to neurootological complaints

Depression is a state of depressed mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of "the blues" through dysthymia to major depression. Endogenous depression has been identified with a specific symptom complex: psychomotor retardation, early morning awakening, weight loss, excessive guilt, and lack of reactivity to the environment. Reactive depression is precipitated by a stressful life event. In the field of depression, we found an overlapping activity between psychiatry and neurootology. Our sample comprises 134 patients (53 [39.55%] male, 81 [60.45%] female) who were classified either by psychiatrists or by neurologists as suffering from depression. By evaluating our neurootological history data bank (Neurootological Data Evaluation-Claussen [NODEC]) as regards 6 important vertigo symptoms, we found that patients presented with a frequency of 2.10 signs per patient. When we extended the list to 11 vertigo and nausea signs, we found 2.93 signs per patients. All patients underwent an objective and quantitative neurootometric analysis. The following rates of abnormal findings were observed: butterfly calorigram of polygraphic electronystagmography, 69.40%; stepping craniocorpograms, 69.40%; and bone-conduction pure-tone audiometry of the right ear, 28.36%, and of the left ear, 36.57%.