The Relations Between Tinnitus, Speech in Noise Performance, and Auditory Brainstem Response in Normal Hearing Teenagers

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between tinnitus, speech in noise thresholds, and auditory brainstem response (ABR) in teenagers with normal hearing, while controlling for pure tone audiometry (PTA) and extended high-frequency (EHF) thresholds. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted on normal-hearing teenagers. The participants underwent testing, including PTA, EHF audiometry, ABR testing, and digits in speech-shaped noise (SSN), in addition to evaluations for tinnitus presence. Multiple linear regressions were performed to analyse the relationships between these variables Sample: 84 participants aged 16-17 years, with 42 having tinnitus (18 females) and 42 without (18 females). Results: Regression analyses showed that tinnitus presence, PTA mean, and EHF mean did not significantly predict variation in ABR amplitudes or digits in SSN thresholds in this cohort. Moreover, PTA mean, and EHF mean and ABR amplitudes, did not significantly predict variation in digits in SSN. Conclusion: The study found no link between the presence of tinnitus, performance in speech in noise, and ABR amplitude in teenagers with normal hearing thresholds. This lack of association could be due to the young age and lower lifetime noise exposure of the cohort, or the potential insensitivity of the methods used to detect subtle cochlear dysfunctions that might connect these variables in the normal hearing population.