Article

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) considers tinnitus a disability. Veterans
can claim tinnitus as a "service-connected" disability if the tinnitus is thought
to be connected to military service. The VA adjudicates each claim and determines
whether reasonable evidence exists to support it. Currently, determining the
presence of tinnitus is based on subjective reporting-objective measures do not
exist. The aim of this study was to develop and document a test for detecting the
presence/absence of tinnitus with high confidence. Using our computer-automated,
self-guided tinnitus evaluation system, we conducted three phases of testing to
compare psychoacoustic measures of tinnitus between participants with versus
without tinnitus. Phase 1 measures included loudness match, pitch match, minimum
masking level, residual inhibition, Bekesy, and forced-choice double staircase.
Phases 2 and 3 measures were chosen based on results of the previous phase. The
number of tests and time of testing decreased during each successive phase.
Differences were seen between groups; most notably, higher low-frequency loudness
matches and higher median pitch matches were observed for participants with
tinnitus. Results of this study suggest that further efforts can produce a
defined psychoacoustic test battery for identifying the presence/absence of tinnitus.
- Acouphènes

Langue : ANGLAIS