Evidence review for psychoacoustic measures: Tinnitus: assessment and management

Excerpt

Psychoacoustic measures of tinnitus have sometimes been used historically as part of a comprehensive assessment of the experience of tinnitus alongside otoscopy and pure tone audiometry. Psychoacoustic measures commonly include tinnitus pitch and loudness matching, minimal masking levels and residual inhibition and have been used as part of the evaluation of a person’s tinnitus, forming a baseline measure against which to monitor the success of the management plan.

Pitch matching has been used to establish the frequency characteristics of tinnitus, which is then adjusted in intensity to match the loudness of the tinnitus. Minimal masking levels have been used as the lowest level at which the tinnitus can be masked by a stimulus, often narrow band noise, broad band noise or a pure tone. Finally, residual inhibition is a phenomenon whereby tinnitus is temporarily reduced after the presentation of masking noise for a short period of time. However, the reliability, validity and usefulness of the clinical data obtained from these psychoacoustic tests are questionable and there are no standardised protocols.

This review was therefore carried out to inform recommendations about whether psychoacoustic measurements are clinically and cost effective for assessing tinnitus.