Survey Results: Tinnitus Talk Mini Survey

You may remember the Mini Survey from late last year.

A total of 802 people responded to it (it wasn't limited to registered members of Tinnitus Talk).

Below you will find the results. @attheedgeofscience created the pie charts. And we've attached the PowerPoint file too.

 

Impressively done and very illuminating ... in future versions I'd love to see how people are also impacted by increased sound sensitivity/hyperacusis etc.

 

Very interesting.........In terms of causes, what is the difference between "noise induced" and "acoustic trauma"? They seem very similar.
Nice job on the survey......

 

NIHL is gradually worsening hearing loss which typically manifests itself as a notch at around 4 kHz on an audiogram (can take e.g. 10 years to get to that point...). It is not reversible.

Acoustic trauma may occur in a split second from the noise of gunfire or it may develop over a 2-hour period from the noise exposure at a concert. In either event, it is much more sudden - and usually there will be a threshold shift of the entire audiogram (which then gradually recovers in the following 12/24/48 hours...).

 

What do you mean with threshold shift of the entire audiogram? Can you show an example pls?

 

He means your entire hearing threshold will have shifted (all frequencies would show more Db of hearing loss). But in many cases the shift is temporary .

 

Some interesting info, but clearly the survey will be skewed in places. In particular, cured and improved on the relevant pie chart will be, you would assume, artificially lower if it included a substantial active tinnitus base.

 

Did not you have a loss at 4k that improved after laser treatments? Many who did laser had improved hearing at 4k but you say it is not reversible?

 

I believe this why you have muffled hearing after acoustic traumas even in the absence of any middle ear pathologies. If you would take an audiogram immediately after such an event, your thresholds would be worsened at most, if not all frequencies.

I vaguely remember reading an article about this being yet another mechanism of protection against loud noises. To prevent such information reaching/damaging the brain I assume. However, there doesn't seem to be a positive concensus that this is the case.