The role of tinnitus evaluation tests in differentiating functional versus organic tinnitus.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of tinnitus tests in differentiating patients with functional tinnitus from patients with organic tinnitus.

Design: One hundred ninety-six patients with tinnitus were divided into 2 groups. Forty-three patients, group 1, were not exposed to noise and had sensorineural hearing loss. One hundred fifty-three patients, group 2, were exposed to noise and claimed disability. All the patients underwent 4 tinnitus evaluation tests: pitch matching, intensity matching, residual inhibition, and tinnitus masking. We compared the results of the tinnitus tests between the 2 groups.

Results: Group 1 patients had a high-frequency, low-intensity tinnitus that tended to be more inhibited by narrow-band noise, was usually consistent with type I Feldman masking curve, and could be effectively masked. Group 2 patients had tinnitus that could not be characterized. The results of the tinnitus tests were significantly different between the groups.

Conclusion: Tinnitus tests may help us differentiate functional tinnitus that is not of cochlear origin from genuine tinnitus.