Abstract
Objectives:
Compare acufenometry findings of patients with chronic unilateral disturbing tinnitus due to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) or presbycusis, and determine if there is an association with the degree of annoyance.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 38 patients with presbycusis and 17 with NIHL were evaluated between September 2003 and January 2014. The tinnitus pitch and loudness were evaluated using acufenometry. Tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) and the visual analog scale (VAS) were used to assess the impact of tinnitus on the patient’s life. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS and Student t test.
Results:
The mean age of the patients with presbycusis and NIHL was 67.74 ± 8.73 years and 62.29 ± 9.57 years, respectively (P = .04). The tinnitus pitch (3092 ± 2203 Hz vs 4220.59 ± 2907.26 Hz; P = .12) as well as the loudness (42.71 ± 19.80 vs 47.40 ± 20.80; P = .44) were similar in both groups. In addition, no statistically significant difference was observed in the THI and VAS of either group (P = .76 and P = .46, respectively).
Conclusions:
Despite the differences observed in the cause of tinnitus and the mean ages of the patients, no significant difference was observed in the behavior of tinnitus in the groups with presbycusis and NIHL. Furthermore, tinnitus had a similar impact on the lives of patients from both groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.