The relationship between tinnitus pitch and the audiogram.
We studied the relationship between tinnitus pitch and the audiogram in 195 patients. Patients with tone-like tinnitus reported a higher pitch (mean = 5385 Hz) compared to those with a noise-like quality (mean = 3266 Hz). Those with a flat audiogram were more likely to report: a noise-like tinnitus, a unilateral tinnitus, and have a pitch < 2000 Hz. The average duration of bilateral tinnitus (12 years) was longer than that of unilateral tinnitus (5 years). Older subjects reported a less severe tinnitus handicap questionnaire score. Patients with a notched audiogram often reported a pitch <or=8000 Hz. Subjects with normal hearing up to 8000 Hz tended to have a pitch >or=8000 Hz. We failed to find a relationship between the pitch and the edge of a high frequency hearing loss. Some individuals did exhibit a pitch at the low frequency edge of a hearing loss, but we could find no similar characteristics among these subjects. It is possible that a relationship between pitch and audiogram is present only in certain subgroups.
Pan
Tao
T
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Tyler
Richard S
RS
Ji
Haihong
H
Coelho
Claudia
C
Gehringer
Anne K
AK
Gogel
Stephanie A
SA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D034381:Hearing Loss; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014012:Tinnitus