Abstract
BackgroundEvidence of systematic relationships between the perceptual characteristics of tinnitus, like its pitch or loudness, and those of the absolute hearing threshold curves, like the presence and degree of hearing loss at certain frequencies, would probably help to understand how tinnitus is related to the configuration of hearing loss.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine the effects of hearing aid fitting on the perceptual characteristics of tinnitus.Participants and methodsThe participants of the study were 50 adults (20–60 years old) with subjective tinnitus and different degrees of hearing loss. Otorhinolaryngological examination, tonal audiometry, and acoustic immittance testing were done. Participants answered Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) Questionnaire at the time of the first fitting with their hearing aid and performed at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months postfitting.ResultsTHI showed a significant decrease throughout the 12 months from 74.80±15.98 at baseline to 61.84±14.02 3 months later, then 38.35±10.98 by the sixth month and 12.90±4.26 by the end of 12 months. At the baseline, no slight or mild cases were detected, whereas moderate THI represented 16%, severe 28%, and catastrophic 56%. These rates changed 3 months later as catastrophic cases decreased almost to one-third of its rate at the baseline. By the sixth month, no catastrophic cases were detected and severe stages recorded trivial rates, whereas most of cases were categorized as mild or moderate. By the end of the study, the great majority of cases were slight (81.6%) and the remaining portion was mild, with no moderate, severe, or catastrophic cases recorded.ConclusionAnalysis of the results has shown that the use of hearing aids are one of the number of therapeutic options offered to tinnitus patients and promote the improvement in the perceptual characteristics of tinnitus.
Highlights
Tinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear when no actual sound is present
Participants and methods This study is an interventional prospective design that was conducted initially on 60 patients with different degrees of hearing loss [conductive hearing loss (CHL), mixed hearing loss, and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)] and on those suffering from tinnitus in the age range from 22 to 61 years and of both sexes
All participants who participated in this study were subjected to: (i) full history taking, (ii) otological examination, (iii) audiological evaluation; all measures for the participants were performed using GrasonStadler (GSI) 61 audiometer (GSI 33, Otometrics, Denmark) and stimuli were delivered through TDH-50 P Telephonics headphones (Denmark) and GSI loudspeakers for aided free-field audiometry
Summary
Tinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear when no actual sound is present. Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of causes [1]. Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise [2]. Most of tinnitus sufferers have subjective tinnitus that cannot be heard by the examiner. This condition could be accompanied by serious psychological impacts like depression and anxiety, low concentration, and loss of control [3]. Evidence of systematic relationships between the perceptual characteristics of tinnitus, like its pitch or loudness, and those of the absolute hearing threshold curves, like the presence and degree of hearing loss at certain frequencies, would probably help to understand how tinnitus is related to the configuration of hearing loss
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