Psychoacoustic tinnitus measurement and diagnostic approach

Introduction. Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external acoustic stimulus, which leads to maladaptation, anxietydepressive disorders and a decrease in the quality of life. The prevalence among the adult population is about 14%, including 2% of cases with severe symptoms. Psychoacoustic noise measurement is a method of quantifying subjective ear noise by determining its frequency and intensity characteristics using an audiometer that selects an acoustically equivalent tone and is used to identify auditory parameters correlating with noise perception, as well as to assess the influence of external sounds on its manifestations. In Russia, the development of psychoacoustic noise measurement began in the middle of the 20th century with the work of the Leningrad Research Institute of Ear, Throat, Nose and Speech. There are a large number of subjective methods for assessing ear noise.

Aim. Study was to determine the relationship of tinnitus parameters during various types of well-known diagnostical tests.

Materials and methods. 49 patients participated in the study, all of them underwent noise measurement, a questionnaire using the visual analog noise scale (VAS) and the THI questionnaire (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory). Statistical processing of the results was carried out and a comparative analysis of the data obtained was carried out.

Conclusions. Аs a result, a variety of reactions was revealed, indicating complex noise generation mechanisms. No statistically significant relationship was found between the noise parameters. Thus, a promising direction is the development of integrated approaches, including multi-frequency stimuli and 3D modeling of perception. Improving the methods will allow you to create personalized therapeutic strategies.

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