The characteristics of hearing loss in outpatients with tinnitus over the age of 60: a 11-year cross-sectional study.

Background: Presbycusis with tinnitus has a significant impact on the quality of life of elderly patients, becoming a serious socioeconomic problem.

Objectives: We conducted an 11-year cross-sectional analysis of the audiometry results of elderly patients with tinnitus from 2011 to 2021.

Methods: 9642 patients aged 60 and over were divided into three groups: young-old (YO) (60-74), old-old (OO) (75-89), and longevous (LON) (90 and over). Pure-tone audiometry results of all patients were analyzed.

Results: Among 9642 patients, the cases of female with tinnitus were more than male in all years. The hearing curve showed a typical age-related decline. Hearing level of air conduction in female declined significantly at low frequencies while that of male was worse at high frequencies in YO and OO groups. Compared with right, left hearing level of air conduction was significantly decreased at all frequencies except 0.125 kHz.

Conclusions: When the chief complaint was tinnitus, women were likely to experience more distress than men. However, men suffered from more hearing loss than women, at least in high frequencies. The influence weight of presbycusis and tinnitus on the auditory cortices might be a possible reason for the lateral distinction of hearing loss at different ages.