Is There an Association between Tinnitus Pitch and Hearing Loss?

Abstract

Objectives: Correlate tinnitus pitch to the audiometric frequencies of hearing loss. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 378 ears of consecutive patients diagnosed with hearing loss and chronic tinnitus of any etiology. Audiometry and acufenometry were performed at the first clinical evaluation; a tinnitus pitch within the frequencies of greatest hearing loss indicated a positive association. The acufenometric frequency was similarly assessed relative to the greatest hearing loss on audiometry. Data were compared using the Spearman correlation test and analyzed using SPSS. Results: In total, 61.6% of patients were female, and the mean patient age was 57.9 years. In 58% of cases, the tinnitus frequency was within the region of greatest hearing loss, but only 20% corresponded exactly to the highest hearing loss frequency. There was a weak correlation ( r = 0.1, P = .02) between the tinnitus pitch in acufenometry and the greatest hearing loss frequency in audiometry. Conclusions: The tinnitus pitch and the region of audiometric loss were correlated in most patients. In several cases, the tinnitus pitch corresponded to the exact frequency of greatest hearing impairment, and the 2 variables had a weak association.