The applicability of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS) in the differentiation of tinnitus and hearing complaints

Purpose  To verify the applicability of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS) to measure the different complaints of tinnitus, hearing loss and sound tolerance.

Methods  THS was performed, composed of 4 questions about tinnitus, 4 about hearing loss and one about sound tolerance. Previously, all participants performed a battery of audiological diagnostic tests and were then divided into 4 groups: Bilateral normal audiometry with mean up to 25dB, with and without tinnitus complaint (Groups 1 and 3); diagnosis of mild to moderate neural sensory hearing loss (26dB to 60dB), no previous use of individual hearing aids, complaining of chronic tinnitus (≥6 months) and individuals without tinnitus complaints (Groups 2 and 4); and age ≥18 years old.

Results  Seventy subjects were included in the present study. Regarding the analysis of the total between the groups by the Kruskal-Wallis test, significant differences were found in the sections about tinnitus and hearing loss, but there was no significance in the section regarding sound tolerance. Regarding the questions in Section A of the THS, only Groups 3 and 4 scored the highest. Regarding the questions related to Section B about hearing loss, the groups without hearing loss (Groups 1 and 3) scored the lowest. In relation to the question of the THS in Section C, Group 3 scored the highest.

Conclusions  The THS questionnaire proved to be a useful, quick and simple tool to assist the audiologist in the understanding and differentiation of the audiologic complaints.

Keywords:
Adult; Hearing; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hearing Loss; Tinnitus