The role of tinnitus evaluation tests in differentiating functional versus organic tinnitus.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the usefulness of tinnitus tests in differentiating patients with functional tinnitus from patients with organic tinnitus.


METHODS
One hundred ninety-six patients with tinnitus were divided into 2 groups. Forty-three patients, group 1, were not exposed to noise and had sensorineural hearing loss. One hundred fifty-three patients, group 2, were exposed to noise and claimed disability. All the patients underwent 4 tinnitus evaluation tests: pitch matching, intensity matching, residual inhibition, and tinnitus masking. We compared the results of the tinnitus tests between the 2 groups.


RESULTS
Group 1 patients had a high-frequency, low-intensity tinnitus that tended to be more inhibited by narrow-band noise, was usually consistent with type I Feldman masking curve, and could be effectively masked. Group 2 patients had tinnitus that could not be characterized. The results of the tinnitus tests were significantly different between the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Tinnitus tests may help us differentiate functional tinnitus that is not of cochlear origin from genuine tinnitus.
Segal
Nili Tal
NT
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. avichai@mcc.org.il
Puterman
Max
M
Shkolnik
Mark
M
Niv
Alexander
A
Kaplan
Daniel
D
Kochva
Anat
A
Kraus
Mordechai
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010898:Pitch Perception; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology