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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Published on: January 25, 2016
Characteristics of somatic tinnitus patients with and without hyperacusis
Massimo Ralli1, Richard J Salvi2,3, Antonio Greco4
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Objective:
Determine if somatic tinnitus patients with hyperacusis have different characteristics from those without hyperacusis.
Patients And Methods:
172 somatic tinnitus patients with (n = 82) and without (n = 90) hyperacusis referred to the Tinnitus Unit of Sapienza University of Rome between June 2012 and June 2016 were compared for demographic characteristics, tinnitus features, self-administered questionnaire scores, nature of somatic modulation and history.
Results:
Compared to those without hyperacusis, patients with somatic tinnitus and hyperacusis: (a) were older (43.38 vs 39.12 years, p = 0.05), (b) were more likely to have bilateral tinnitus (67.08% vs 55.56%, p = 0.04), (c) had a higher prevalence of somatic modulation of tinnitus (53.65% vs 36.66%, p = 0.02) and (d) scored significantly worse on tinnitus annoyance (39.34 vs 22.81, p<0.001) and subjective hearing level (8.04 vs 1.83, p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Our study shows significantly higher tinnitus modulation and worse self-rating of tinnitus and hearing ability in somatic tinnitus patients with hyperacusis versus somatic tinnitus patients without hyperacusis. These differences could prove useful in developing a better understanding of the pathophysiology and establishing a course of treatment for these two groups of patients.
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