Tinnitus Relief Using Fractal Sound Without Sound Amplification

Tinnitus is an irritating sensation of hearing a sound when no external sound is present, even interfering with the quality of life of its patients. Its increasing and high prevalence has reached millions of people. Fractal sounds are musical nuances with combined and semi predictable connections, generated by recursive procedures. This study presents a possible alternative treatment through the use of fractal sound, without sound amplification, in the relief of tinnitus, for a population of medium and low income, who do not have access to hearing aids of individual sound amplification-hearing aids. The study included 32 individuals, of genders, different ages, complaining of tinnitus, with sensorineural hearing loss, up to 60 dB. The project was approved by CEP-UTFPR. The research participant performed anamnesis, meatoscopy, pure tone audiometry, logoaudiometry, immittanciometry, acuphenometry and answered the questionnaire Tinnitus Handicap Inventory-THI and numerical scale at the beginning and at the end of the study. The fractal sound was heard through the participants' own cell phones, with headphones provided by the cell phone manufacturer, for three months, for one hour daily. The type of tinnitus found was high pitch, with an ave-rage of 5673.5 Hz. According to THI, the severity of tinnitus that predominated most was the moderate degree at the beginning of the study and the mild degree at the end of it. The THI showed a significant difference in the functional scale, emotional scale, and catastrophic scale and also in the final total score of the questionnaire. There was a statistically significant difference in the initial and final averages of the numerical scale, in the level of awareness and in the level of discomfort with tinnitus.