Features of complex diagnostics of subjective ear noise

Abstract

Tinnitus is one of the most common ENT complaints. The peculiarity of this disease is lack of objective measurements. It is hard to monitor evaluation of treatment results. The main reference points, such as the presence or absence of ear noise – are not sufficient to determine this pathology. Also, most of these patients have negative emotions connected with their ear noise. That is why the characteristics of tinnitus and its influence on the quality of life are very individual. Thus, it is advisable to distinguish two components of ear noise: noise itself, as a physical quantity that has amplitude and frequency parameters, and noise, as the main source of subjective suffering of the patient. To determine the characteristics of these two noise components, we used two diagnostic methods: standard noise measurement and a visually analog scale to assess the degree of discomfort caused by ear noise. In current study, we investigated interconnection between tinnitus intensity measured by tinnitus matching and data of visual-analog scale of subjective perception of tinnitus. We evaluated that severity of tinnitus intensity did not correlate with thresholds in tinnitus pitch matching. In addition, with the help of international questionnaire survey SCL-90-R we revealed correlation between subjective noise level and patient’s psycho-emotional condition.

Acoustic and Visual Stimulation with the Mobile Application "Tinnitus" Intended for the Treatment of Subjective Noise in Ears: Medical and Technical Justification

“…Особенностью значительного числа современных методов лечения субъективного шума в ушах (СУШ) является их направленность на облегчение состояния пациента и улучшение качества его жизни, а не на избавление от шума в короткие сроки, что в некоторой степени обусловлено отсутствием убедительных данных об этиопатогенезе и, соответственно, неопределенностью патофизиологии данного состояния [1][2][3][4][5].…”