The Impact of Acute Tinnitus on Listening Effort: A Study Based on Clinical Observations of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients

Chii-Yuan Huang, Dian-Sian Li, Ming-Hsien Tsai, Chih-Hao Chen and Yen-Fu Cheng
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Chii-Yuan Huang: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Dian-Sian Li: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Ming-Hsien Tsai: Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Chih-Hao Chen: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Yen-Fu Cheng: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between listening effort and acute tinnitus over the clinical course of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) before and after treatment. Thirty SSNHL patients with acute tinnitus were enrolled in this prospective study. Each patient was evaluated before treatment and after 1 and 3 months of follow-up. Listening effort was evaluated in the unaffected ears in two conditions (with and without background noise) using a dual-task paradigm, which included a primary (speech recognition) task and a secondary (visual reaction time) task. Tinnitus severity was assessed with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). It was observed that background noise significantly increased listening effort in SSNHL patients with acute tinnitus before and after treatment. THI scores and listening effort in quiet conditions (** p = 0.009) were significantly decreased three months after treatment. In an analysis of the relation between tinnitus severity and listening effort, it was found that the THI total score was significantly correlated with listening effort in quiet (* p = 0.0388) and noisy conditions (* p = 0.044) before treatment. We concluded that SSNHL patients with acute tinnitus exerted greater listening effort in the presence of background noise than in quiet conditions. Furthermore, listening effort was reduced as tinnitus improved in SSNHL patients during the three months after treatment. Both before and after 3 months of treatment, patients who were more affected and emotionally distressed by tinnitus tended to exert more listening effort in both quiet and noisy environments.

Keywords: listening effort; tinnitus; sudden sensorineural hearing loss (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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