Letícia Sousa Flores

Pitch and Loudness from Tinnitus in Individuals with Noise-induced Hearing Loss

Introduction  Tinnitus is one of the symptoms that affects individuals suffering from noise induced hearing loss. This condition can be disabling, leading the affected individual to turn away from work. Objective  This literature review aims to analyze the possible association between gender and tinnitus pitch and loudness, the degree of hearing loss and the frequencies affected in subjects with noise-induced hearing loss. Methods  This contemporary cohort study was conducted through a cross-sectional analysis. The study sample consisted of adults with unilateral or bilateral tinnitus, who had been diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss. The patients under analysis underwent an otorhinolaryngological evaluation, pure tone audiometry, and acuphenometry. Results  The study included 33 subjects with noise-induced hearing loss diagnoses, of which 22 (66.7%) were men. Authors observed no statistical difference between gender and loudness/pitch tinnitus and loudness/pitch in subjects with bilateral tinnitus. Authors found an inverse relation between tinnitus loudness with intensity greater hearing threshold and the average of the thresholds and the grade of hearing loss. The tinnitus pitch showed no association with higher frequency of hearing threshold. Conclusion  Data analysis shows that, among the individuals evaluated, the greater the hearing loss, the lower the loudness of tinnitus. We did not observe an association between hearing loss and tinnitus pitch.

Audição em adultos e idosos: associação com sexo, idade e cognição

OBJETIVO:verificar a existencia de associacao entre a presenca e o grau de perda auditiva em adultos e idosos e o desempenho em teste de rastreio cognitivo, o sexo e a idade dos mesmos.METODOS:participaram deste estudo sujeitos com idade entre 52 e 92 anos. Todos responderam a questionario socio-demografico, ao teste de Mini Exame do Estado Mental e a audiometria tonal liminar.RESULTADOS: dos 90 individuos avaliados, 22 (24,4%) eram do sexo masculino e 68 (75,6%) do sexo feminino. Constatou-se que apenas 11 orelhas direitas e 11 orelhas esquerdas apresentavam limiares auditivos normais. Constatou-se que a idade estava associada com o aumento dos limiares auditivos, evidenciando que os individuos mais velhos apresentam maior grau de perda auditiva (p<0,005). Nao houve diferenca estatistica entre os limiares auditivos de homens e mulheres (p=0,1). Observou-se que 80% dos sujeitos cujo resultado do rastreio cognitivo foi normal apresentaram os limiares auditivos menos afetados. Ja 60% dos individuos cujo resultado do rastreio cognitivo foi alterado apresentaram maior grau de perda auditiva. Pode-se constatar a relacao dos achados audiologicos com os resultados do teste de rastreio cognitivo, evidenciando que os sujeitos com o resultado alterado do mini Exame do Estado mental apresentam os maiores graus de perda auditiva (p<0,001).CONCLUSAO:verificou-se que houve associacao entre a presenca e grau da perda auditiva com o resultado do Mini Exame do Estado Mental. O aumento da idade mostrou-se proporcional ao aumento dos limiares auditivos. Nao foi constatada associacao entre genero e audicao na amostra.

Pitch and loudness tinnitus in individuals with presbycusis

Introduction Tinnitus is a symptom that is often associated with presbycusis. Objective This study aims to analyze the existence of association among hearing thresholds, pitch, and loudness of tinnitus in individuals with presbycusis, considering the gender variable. Methods Cross-sectional, descriptive, and prospective study, whose sample consisted of individuals with tinnitus and diagnosis of presbycusis. For the evaluation, we performed anamnesis along with otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, and acuphenometry to analyze the psychoacoustic characteristics of tinnitus individuals. Results The sample consisted of 49 subjects, with a mean age of 69.57 ± 6.53 years, who presented unilateral and bilateral tinnitus, therefore, a sample of 80 ears. In analyzing the results, as for acuphenometry, the loudness of tinnitus was more present at 0dB and the pitch was 6HKz and 8HKz. Regarding the analysis of the association between the frequency of greater hearing threshold and tinnitus pitch, no statistical significance (p = 0.862) was found. As for the association between the intensity of greater hearing threshold and tinnitus loudness, no statistical significance (p = 0.115) was found. Conclusion There is no significant association between the hearing loss of patients with presbycusis and the pitch and loudness of tinnitus.

Sensitivity and Specificity of Portable Hearing Screening in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Introduction Hearing screening allows the identification of individuals with hearing loss. Aim To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a portable hearing screening device in middle-aged and older adults using the manufacturer scoring and a scoring system proposed by the researchers. Methods In this transversal study, participants underwent anamnesis, otoscopy, and hearing screening using portable equipment. After this, a pure tone audiometry was performed, with participants classified into two groups: with and without hearing loss. The sensitivity and specificity of the hearing screening were calculated for the right and left ears using two methods of interpretation: the original method recommended by the manufacturer (criteria 1) and the method proposed by researchers (criteria 2). Results The sample consisted of 55 individuals, 83.6% (n = 46) of whom were women. Per criteria 1, the sensitivities were 26.3 (right ear) and 21.4% (left ear). The specificity was 100% for both ears. Using criteria 2, the sensitivity was 94.7 (right ear) and 100% (left ear). The specificity was 74.3 (right ear) and 65.9% (left ear). Conclusion This study showed that the criteria proposed by the manufacturer presented low sensitivity in the hearing screening. The criteria proposed by the researchers to achieve a more efficient performance reached high and balanced values for sensitivity and specificity.