Short- and long-term changes in auditory sensitivity and tinnitus distress between acute and chronic tinnitus: Longitudinal observation in a community-based sample

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research Pub Date : 2025-05-07 DOI:10.1016/j.heares.2025.109299

Abishek Umashankar , Phillip Gander , Kai Alter , William Sedley

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Chronic tinnitus is a common consequence of hearing loss, which commonly coexists with a degree of increased subjective sensitivity to sound intensity, and sometimes overt hyperacusis. Central gain is thought to be an underlying mechanism for hyperacusis, whilst its relationship with tinnitus is debated. The natural history of chronic tinnitus from its acute stages has been subject to very limited formal study, and only from within the sub-population attending specialist clinics.

We studied community-based samples of individuals with Acute Tinnitus (AT: <6 weeks from onset, N = 51), who were followed up longitudinally 6 months post-onset (N = 26), those with Chronic Tinnitus (CT: >6 months from onset, N = 51), and Non-Tinnitus controls (NT: N = 35) age/sex/hearing matched to the Acute Tinnitus group. We measured tinnitus symptoms with loudness matching, numerical rating scales (NRS), and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) questionnaires, and subjective auditory sensitivity with categorical loudness scaling (CLS) and the Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ) and Inventory of Hyperacusis Symptoms (IHS). Results revealed that measures of tinnitus (psychoacoustically matched loudness, THI, TFI) were maximal around the time of onset and reduced significantly over initial months, in line with previous reports of specialist clinic-based cohorts without high levels of initial distress, but with the additional novel demonstration of a reduction in psychoacoustically matched tinnitus loudness. Conversely, measures of auditory sensitivity (HQ, IHS, CLS slope at 1 kHz and at tinnitus frequency) did not change longitudinally or differ between AT and NT groups. We interpret these changes as indicating spontaneous habituation to the tinnitus over time, but also that subjective auditory sensitivity is not necessarily directly linked to tinnitus symptoms.

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急性和慢性耳鸣之间听觉敏感性和耳鸣痛苦的短期和长期变化：社区样本的纵向观察

慢性耳鸣是听力损失的一种常见后果，它通常与对声音强度的主观敏感性增加程度并存，有时还伴有明显的听觉亢进。中央增益被认为是听觉亢进的潜在机制，而它与耳鸣的关系是有争议的。从急性期开始的慢性耳鸣的自然史一直受到非常有限的正式研究，并且仅来自参加专科诊所的亚人群。我们研究了基于社区的急性耳鸣患者（AT：发病6周，N = 51），他们在发病6个月后（N = 26）进行了纵向随访，慢性耳鸣患者（CT：发病6个月，N = 51）和非耳鸣对照组（NT: N = 35），年龄/性别/听力与急性耳鸣组相符。我们用响度匹配、数值评定量表（NRS）、耳鸣障碍量表（THI）和耳鸣功能指数（TFI）问卷来测量耳鸣症状，用分类响度量表（CLS）和耳鸣症状问卷（HQ）和耳鸣症状量表（IHS）来测量主观听觉灵敏度。结果显示，耳鸣的测量（心理声学匹配响度，THI， TFI）在发病时最大，在最初的几个月里显着降低，这与先前没有高水平初始痛苦的专科临床队列的报告一致，但有额外的新证明，心理声学匹配耳鸣响度降低。相反，听觉灵敏度（HQ， IHS， CLS斜率在1khz和耳鸣频率下）的测量在at组和NT组之间没有纵向变化或差异。我们将这些变化解释为随着时间的推移对耳鸣的自发习惯，但也表明主观听觉敏感性不一定与耳鸣症状直接相关。

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来源期刊

Hearing Research 医学-耳鼻喉科学

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

14.30%

发文量

163

审稿时长

75 days

期刊介绍： The aim of the journal is to provide a forum for papers concerned with basic peripheral and central auditory mechanisms. Emphasis is on experimental and clinical studies, but theoretical and methodological papers will also be considered. The journal publishes original research papers, review and mini- review articles, rapid communications, method/protocol and perspective articles. Papers submitted should deal with auditory anatomy, physiology, psychophysics, imaging, modeling and behavioural studies in animals and humans, as well as hearing aids and cochlear implants. Papers dealing with the vestibular system are also considered for publication. Papers on comparative aspects of hearing and on effects of drugs and environmental contaminants on hearing function will also be considered. Clinical papers will be accepted when they contribute to the understanding of normal and pathological hearing functions.