Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the results of extended high-frequency (EHF) and high-frequency hearing tests in young patients with tinnitus who show normal response in conventional pure-tone audiometry (PTA), and to explore the correlation between tinnitus and hearing loss (HL). STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: A Tertiary Eye Ear Nose & Throat Hospital of China. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with tinnitus, aged 18 to 35 years old, and with normal conventional PTA (125 Hz-8 kHz) were enrolled in the tinnitus group. Volunteers without tinnitus of the same age were enrolled in the control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The incidence of EHF-HL and the hearing thresholds at each frequency, as well as the distribution of maximum HL frequency and edge frequency in all participants were compared. RESULTS: In total, 28 cases (43 ears) were enrolled in the tinnitus group and 34 cases (68 ears) in the control group. The incidence of EHF-HL, average hearing threshold of each frequency ranging from 4 to 16 kHz, and the maximum hearing threshold were significantly higher in the tinnitus group. The edge frequency in the tinnitus group was lower than that in the control group (10.4 ± 3.1 kHz versus 12.3 ± 2.5 kHz, p = 0.010). The dominant tinnitus pitch in cases whose EHF was impaired was positively correlated with the hearing-level loudness of tinnitus (r = 0.627, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with tinnitus and normal hearing in conventional PTA showed signs of EHF-HL and hidden damage in the high-frequencies more easily. EHF hearing tests and the follow-up of HF hearing tests are recommended to facilitate early detection of hearing impairment for timely intervention.