title: [Tinnitus in elderly patients].
abstract: Tinnitus is the perceived sensation of sound in the absence of acoustic stimulation. Spontaneous idiopathic tinnitus is a significant interdisciplinary therapeutic problem. In elderly patients it most frequently coexists with sensorineural hearing loss. The chief idea of tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) in treatment of chronic tinnitus consists of following strategies: low level and broad band noise surroundings, diversion of the attention to other things and psychological counseling and therapy. The purpose of this study was to verify the benefits and ramifications of tinnitus retraining therapy in elderly patients suffering from chronic tinnitus with sensorineural hearing loss. Methods 30 subjects aged 65-90 years suffering from chronic tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss were questioned about features of the tinnitus using a set of standardised questions. All of them were fitted with modern digital hearing aids and questioned about subjective hearing results after a month of follow-up. Main result 24 of the patients declared to have had considerable improvement in tolerance of the tinnitus. Main conclusion Fitting with hearing aids is an effective way of treatment in the majority of elderly patients with chronic tinnitus. The effectiveness of supplying elderly patients with hearing aids for tinnitus management depended in our group of patients on whether the patient had good speech understanding prior to fitting with hearing aids (speech discrimination score below and above 80%).
authors.affiliation: Specjalistyczne Centrum Diagnostyczno-Zabiegowe Medicina w Krakowie.
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zagólski
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome