Clinical evaluation of a computerized self-administered tinnitus measurement system

Introduction: The basic step in most tinnitus management programs is to quantify the characteristics, including pitch and loudness, of the perceived tinnitus. The success of some contemporary tinnitus management approaches, such as tinnitus notched therapy, relies on the accuracy of the tinnitus pitch matched. Our research team developed a self-administered tinnitus measurement system which is capable to measure tinnitus frequency in one hertz resolution via a smartphone.
Aim: To investigate the feasibility and accuracy of the self-administered tinnitus measurement system.
Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with subjective tinnitus were recruited in the Audiology clinic in a hospital setting. The subjects completed the conventional procedures or the automated tinnitus measurement in a randomized order. Subjects were asked to rate on a 100-point visual analog scale on the similarity of the measured tinnitus tone and loudness and the one perceived. Tinnitus pitch and loudness obtained with both methods were compared. Test-retest reliability of both methods was investigated.
Results: There was no significant difference in the thresholds of unmasked air-conduction hearing obtained with the computerized self-administered hearing test via a smartphone and those obtained with standard pure-tone audiometry. Comparable variability was observed for within-session repeated tinnitus pitch and loudness measured via
both conventional and the automated method. There was no significant difference in VAS rating on similarity between the measured and perceived tinnitus pitch and loudness for repeated measures in the same session.
Conclusion: It is feasible to perform tinnitus pitch and loudness measurement with the self-administered system via a smartphone. Copyright © 2012 TRI2012.