Tinnitus is associated with reduced sound level tolerance in adolescents with normal audiograms and otoacoustic emissions.

Recent neuroscience research suggests that tinnitus may reflect synaptic loss in the cochlea that does not express in the audiogram but leads to neural changes in auditory pathways that reduce sound level tolerance (SLT). Adolescents (N = 170) completed a questionnaire addressing their prior experience with tinnitus, potentially risky listening habits, and sensitivity to ordinary sounds, followed by psychoacoustic measurements in a sound booth. Among all adolescents 54.

Tinnitus in adolescents: the start of the vulnerability of the auditory pathways.

Introduction: Although tinnitus is an increasingly common symptom, few studies have assessed its prevalence or incidence among adolescents.

Purpose: To assess whether the presence of tinnitus in adolescents is associated with minimal hearing damage, evaluated through high-frequency audiometry (HFA), otoacoustic emission (OAE), and loudness discomfort level (LDL).

Methods: The sample comprised 168 adolescents of a private school (61.