Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to more precisely identify how hearing loss affects tinnitus. To achieve this, we compared the frequency and intensity of tinnitus matches with hearing loss on an audiogram. Materials and Methods: Each participant underwent a detailed history and clinical examination followed by a pure tone audiogram. In history patients were asked their age at first appearance of the tinnitus and its duration. Also, they were asked for a description of the sound; most patients were able to describe their tinnitus as whistling or buzzing. If the description did not fall into either of these categories, it was defined as “other.” For spatial localization, patients were asked to describe their symptoms as being either left- or right sided or as non lateralized. In regard to variability over time, certain patients described their tinnitus either as stable over time or as fluctuating (usually louder at bedtime and on awakening). Results: Tinnitus was often attributed to ear pathology (31%) or in fewer cases to any systemic illness (12%). In 17% of cases, the tinnitus appeared in association with psychological problems such as emotional trauma, depression or episodes of stress or anxiety. Finally 5% of patients described “other” as the context. Conclusion: This study shows that sensorineural hearing loss is associated with a high-pitched whistling tinnitus that is stable over time, occurs in either ear. The descriptive aspects of tinnitus are strongly correlated with hearing loss as demonstrated by pure-tone audiometry.