Abstract
Fifty patients with Ménière’s disease rated their subjective perception of tinnitus
loudness just before measuring their own hearing thresholds 3 times a day for a period of 8 weeks. Tinnitus loudness was recorded using a subjective scale 1-5. Hearing thresholds were recorded in dBHL as tested in-situ at 14 frequency bands using a portable programmer connected to custom fitted hearing aids. This equipment allowed the hearing aids to be automatically programmed to the given hearing loss at the end of each self-hearing testing. Patients were given the option to continue wearing the hearing aids and portable programmer to adjust for hearing fluctuation.
Data analysis showed no correlation between changes in tinnitus loudness perception
and hearing fluctuation. Usage of self-programmable hearing aids caused a positive
impact on tinnitus perception in this group: 20% reported not hearing their tinnitus
while wearing their aids, 69% perceived their tinnitus softer and 11% did not notice
any changes. Importantly, none of the patients in this group noticed an increase in
tinnitus loudness while wearing optimally fitted hearing aids.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 126-135 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | New Zealand Medical Journal (Online) |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue number | 1311 |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| Event | ‘Tinnitus Discovery’: Asia-Pacific Tinnitus Symposium - Auckland, New Zealand Duration: 11 Sept 2009 → 12 Sept 2009 |