Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 6, 2026

A Low Cost Setup for Behavioral Audiometry in Rodents
Published on: October 16, 2012
Tinnitus loudness matchings in relation to annoyance and grading of severity
1Department of Audiology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. gerhard.andersson@psyk.uu.se
Objective:
To measure and compare different parameters of tinnitus loudness obtained via matching and to investigate their associations with self-reported severity of tinnitus.
Methods:
From the audiology department 18 patients with unilateral tinnitus of sensorineural origin were selected. They underwent pure-tone audiometry, and in a matching paradigm their tinnitus pitch was estimated. Loudness was assessed at tinnitus frequency and at the frequency of best hearing and both were expressed in sensation level (SL) and hearing level (HL). Moreover, minimal masking level (MML) with white noise was assessed as well as thresholds for the tinnitus tone and a comparison tone in the contralateral ear when tinnitus was masked.
Results:
Annoyance and grading of severity were associated with measures of loudness expressed in HL, MML, and pure-tone audiometry. Loudness in SL was not associated with self-reported severity. Tinnitus loudness, matched at the frequency of best hearing instead of the tinnitus frequency, appears to be less dependent on HL, while still being associated with distress and grading of severity.
Conclusion:
Severity of tinnitus is related to hearing thresholds, and loudness in SL provides little clinically useful information.
More Related Videos
14:05Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
07:28Psychophysically-anchored, Robust Thresholding in Studying Pain-related Lateralization of Oscillatory Prestimulus Activity
Published on: January 21, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Applications of Logarithms