Correlação entre métodos de avaliação do zumbido na população idosa: acufenometria e aplicação do questionário Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI)

Abstract

Introduction: In aging, a stage of the natural cycle of life, some loss processes happen in the body, including hearing loss. After age 50, the auditory system progressively degrades, especially at higher frequencies. In this process, known as presbycusis, hearing thresholds are lowered, and other symptoms such as vertigo and tinnitus may be present. Tinnitus, an auditory perception without external sound source, is considered the third worst symptom that affects an individual, can cause damage to the patient's quality of life and is estimated to reach 33% of the elderly population with or without hearing loss. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between hearing acuity, pitch and loudness of tinnitus with handicap measured by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Methods: We studied 28 individuals aged 60 years and over, of both sexes, complaining of sensorineural tinnitus. The patients underwent audiological anamnesis and THI, basic audiometric assessment and acuphenometry to define tinnitus pitch and loudness. Results: The sample consisted of 16 (57.2%) males and 12 (42.8%) females, 12 (42.8%) without hearing loss and 16 (57.2%) with hearing loss. The most frequent tinnitus pitch was 8 kHz, the average loudness was 3.65 dBNS in the right ear and 4.38 dBNS in the left ear. There was no statistically significant relationship between hearing acuity, pitch and loudness of tinnitus and handicap measured by THI. Conclusion: In this study, there was no statistically significant relationship between hearing acuity, tinnitus psychoacoustic characteristics and tinnitus incorporation level.