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.
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Tao
T
Pan
Richard S
RS
Tyler
Haihong
H
Ji
Claudia
C
Coelho
Anne K
AK
Gehringer
Stephanie A
SA
Gogel
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