ABSTRACT
Purpose:
to investigate the suppressive effect of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions in subjects with tinnitus complaint and normal audiometry and to analyze the relation to age, gender, laterality of tinnitus and its degree of discomfort.
Methods:
we assessed 60 subjects, 14 males and 46 females, aged between 20 and 59 years, 30 with tinnitus (experimental group) and 30 without tinnitus complaint (control group). The suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions was investigated with contralateral white noise at 50 dBHL at the frequency bands of 700, 1000, 1400, 2000, 2800 and 4000Hz.
Results:
the mean value for the suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions in the experimental group ranged from 2.14 to 4.38. In the control group, the mean value for suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions ranged from 2.27 to 4.88.
Conclusion:
suppression values of otoacoustic emissions were similar in subjects with and without tinnitus, although the results of the tinnitus group were lower, suggesting worse performance of the Superior Olivary Complex.
Keywords:
Tinnitus; Hearing; Hearing Tests; Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer; Signal-To-Noise Ratio
