Is Tinnitus Loudness Related to Hearing Threshold?

Hi Dr. Nagler,

I have been trying to figure out what impacts tinnitus loudness. Is hearing threshold/the degree of hearing loss a major factor in tinnitus loudness?

Thank you for your answer.

 

Hello @ThomasC -

Thank you for your interesting question.

Hearing thresholds are not a major factor in tinnitus loudness. There are people with relatively normal thresholds who have screaming tinnitus, there are people who are deaf or nearly deaf who have no appreciable tinnitus, and there is just about every possible combination and permutation in-between.

For what it's worth, my feeling about trying to figure out what impacts tinnitus loudness can be summed up as follows: The first step in truly overcoming your tinnitus is when you have finally figured out that you cannot figure it out at all! It's like as soon as you think you have an answer, your tinnitus will change the question. Or so it seems, anyway.

I hope this response helps more than frustrates.

Stephen M. Nagler, M.D.