The Annoyance of Tinnitus and the Noise Required to Mask It

1 March 1983

journal article
research article
Published by American Speech Language Hearing Association in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Vol. 26 (1) , 73-76
https://doi.org/10.1044/jshr.2601.73

Abstract

For 11 patients with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss, the intensity of bilateral broad-band noise required to mask the tinnitus increased by as much as 41 dB over a 30-minute period. A significant correlation was obtained between the rate of change in the noise over time and reported annoyance of the tinnitus as measured on a 5-point rating scale. The total change in the noise level and the initial noise level required to mask the tinnitus were not significantly correlated with the annoyance of the tinnitus.