Is there a relationship between audiogram shape and the intensity and duration of tinnitus?

Abstract

© 2018, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. Chronic tinnitus is often associated with hearing impairment, but it cannot be asserted that only hearing loss causes tinnitus. Audiograms of patients with tinnitus show that hearing loss occurred more often at high frequencies than at low frequencies. The aim of this study was to analyse the audiogram shapes of patients with chronic tinnitus and to identify the relationship between the shape of the audiogram and intensity and duration of tinnitus. This investigation was a cross case series study conducted at a general hospital in Kraljevo on patients with chronic subjective tinnitus. The study included 43 patients of both genders and of different ages. We used audiometry (measuring the threshold of hearing for frequencies from 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz) and tympanometry. Each patient reported the intensity of tinnitus in each ear on a visual analogue scale (VAS1) and stated the duration of tinnitus for each ear. Our research showed that patients with chronic tinnitus had a characteristic audiogram with progressive hearing loss to high frequencies. This difference was significantly increased starting from lower to higher frequencies, and the most hearing-decreased range (“edge”) was between 2000 and 4000 Hz. We did not find a strong link between the tinnitus intensity measured by the visual analogue scale and tinnitus duration on one side and hearing loss in the studied patients and audiogram shape on the other side. The duration of tinnitus was most associated with hearing loss at 2000 Hertz, but even that was not significant.