Auditory phenomena as differential diagnostics to tinnitus

Abstract

In the auditory system, subjective tinnitus is known as phantom perception. Humans also report illusionary misperceptions of real listening impressions and complex scene-like acoustic fantasies without external hearing stimulus. The exact pathophysiological relationships of the auditory phenomena are still unclear. Important comorbidities include hearing loss, brain disease and mental disorders. In a literature search in the PubMed database, publications were evaluated until March 2021 on the search terms tinnitus, palinacousis, pareidolia, synesthesia, aura, acoustic hallucination with regard to similarities and differences to subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can occur together with other auditory phenomena in an individual. Diagnostically important is the relationship between hearing loss and tinnitus as well as between tinnitus and hearing loss in the corresponding frequency range. With hearing loss, other auditory phenomena may occur. The occurrence of various auditory phenomena simultaneously in a person suggests an auditory perceptual continuum with common physiological processing structures. People with hearing loss should be asked about the various auditory phenomena. For all auditory phenomena, audiometric examination should be part of the diagnostic standard.