title: Description of tinnitus and its relation to discomfort level in a group of elderly hearing aid wearers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evaluating quality of life for tinnitus patients has been an interest of several specialties that have seen the negative impact that the disorder has on people.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess and qualify tinnitus in a group of elderly hearing aid wearers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 53 elderly patients with tinnitus without remission after wearing hearing aids. All subjects were submitted to: a medical evaluation, an audiological evaluation, acuphenometry, an investigation of tinnitus annoyance level and quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 20 men and 33 women. The mean age was 72.5 years. The sample was mostly characterized by having sensorineural hearing loss (84%), moderate to moderately severe (86%) and downward sloping (82%). With respect to the description of the tinnitus sound, the most common were a hissing sound (93%) of average pitch (84%). Regarding the subjects' perception of tinnitus, it was found that subjects had varying levels of annoyance: mild (25%), moderate (33%), severe (22%), most severe (20%). Men are more bothered by tinnitus than women. Most of the sample reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was possible to evaluate and qualify tinnitus in the sample. Although tinnitus is a frequent audiological symptom that interferes in the life of the elderly, in the sample it did not weigh heavily in terms of quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Master's and Doctoral Program in Communication Disorders at the University of Tuiuti in Paraná - University of Tuiuti in Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jociane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cribari
authors.affiliation: Master's and Doctoral Program in Communication Disorders at the University of Tuiuti in Paraná - University of Tuiuti in Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ribas
authors.affiliation: Master's and Doctoral Program in Communication Disorders at the University of Tuiuti in Paraná - University of Tuiuti in Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vinicius Ribas
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Master's and Doctoral Program in Communication Disorders at the University of Tuiuti in Paraná - University of Tuiuti in Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claudia Maoski
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.affiliation: Master's and Doctoral Program in Communication Disorders at the University of Tuiuti in Paraná - University of Tuiuti in Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bianca Simone
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Zeigelboim
authors.affiliation: Widex Speech-Language Center - Widex Speech-Language Center, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jackeline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Master's Program in Neuroscience and Behavior - University Federal of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marine Raquel Diniz da
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: aged; hearing aids; tinnitus