Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg | Volume 5, Issue 3 | Research Article | Open Access

Missed Hearing Loss Affects the Outcome of Compound Sound Therapy Upon Tinnitus

Xian-Ren Wang1,2*, Liang-Jiang Wu3, Ying Yi1,2 and Guang-Xia Xiong1,2

1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
2Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
3The First People's Hospital of Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China

*Correspondance to: Xian-Ren Wang 

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Abstract

Objective: We wished to investigate the effect and importance of precision testing of tinnitus on tinnitus treatment using compound acoustic therapy.

Methods: Forty-six patients with a normal hearing threshold were recruited. Clinical data (tinnitus frequency, tinnitus loudness, minimum masking level, Residual Inhibition (RI)) were documented and Feldman masking curves drawn. A hearing test was undertaken using steps of 1/24 octaves and 2 dB. Each test required determination of the Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI) and patients using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for tinnitus according to their own experience. Then, patients underwent
acoustic therapy.

Results: Thirty-two cases were RI-positive and 14 cases were RI-negative. Thirty-four patients had hearing loss according to PTA using the 1/24-octave hearing test. All of them shown Notched curve in audiogram. Differences in the mean scores for THI and VAS between patients with hearing loss before and after treatment were significant (p<0.01), whereas differences between the 12 patients with normal hearing before and after treatment were not.

Conclusion: “Notched Hearing Loss” (NHL) affected the outcome of compound acoustic therapy for tinnitus patients. The effect of acoustic therapy for patients with NHL was better than that for patients with normal hearing. Therefore, conducting a detailed hearing test for tinnitus patients is important.

Keywords:

Tinnitus; Hearing loss; Acoustic therapy

Citation:

Wang X-R, Wu L-J, Yi Y, Xiong G-X. Missed Hearing Loss Affects the Outcome of Compound Sound Therapy Upon Tinnitus. Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022; 5(3): 1180..

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