Electrophysiological simulation of tinnitus

The auditory brainstem response to clicks of 60 dB sensation level was recorded with superimposed pure tones at six frequencies and four sensation levels in an attempt to simulate the effects of tinnitus on the auditory brainstem response. Changes in responses were assessed by subtracting the auditory brainstem response obtained to the click-plus-tone from the auditory brainstem response obtained to the immediately preceding click alone. The dyssynchrony created by exogenously produced pure tones was considerable and probably reflected adaptation of individual single units; however, the auditory brainstem response to clicks alone changed markedly from the beginning to the end of the experiment and confounded a simple interpretation of the results.