Auditory attention ability in normal hearing patients with chronic subjective tinnitus

Tinnitus is the perception of sounds in the absence of an external acoustic signal. Many patients with tinnitus complain of attention and concentration difficulties that affect their daily life activities.

This study was done to assess the auditory attention ability in normal hearing patients with subjective chronic tinnitus, and to study the relation between auditory attention and the degree of tinnitus handicap and the psychoacoustic characterization of tinnitus.

This is a case control study that included 35 normal hearing chronic (>6 months duration) tinnitus patients, between 18-50 years of age, of both genders, compared to 35 normal hearing controls without tinnitus. Tinnitus severity was assessed by the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess the psychological status of the patients. Auditory attention was evaluated by behavioral measures: The vigilance test of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (VMoCA), the Digit forward span test (DFST), Speech-in-noise (SPIN) test, and the Dichotic digits test (DDT).

Tinnitus cases in the current study performed significantly worse than their controls on the behavioral measures of auditory attention measured (P value <.05). The vigilance test of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (VMOCA) was significantly affected with a mean of 1.49 (SD ± 0.66) as compared to controls (Mean: 2 ± 0). There was a statistically significant (P < .05) negative correlation between functional subscale of THI with DDT test right ear (r = -0.415) and left ear (r = -0.354). There was a statistically significant (P < .05) negative correlation between catastrophic subscale of THI with DDT test left ear (r = -0.387). There was a statistically significant (P < .05) negative correlation between total score of THI with DDT test right ear (r = -0.347). Also, there was a statistically significant (P < .05) negative correlation between functional subscale of THI and SPIN test results in the left ear (r = -0.39), and between total score of THI and SPIN test in the left ear (r = -0.382).

Chronic tinnitus is linked to anxiety, depression, and impaired auditory attention. These findings suggest that therapies for tinnitus should include cognitive and emotional support.