The Association Between Cochlear and Retrocochlear Disorders with Tinnitus with Normal Hearing Thresholds

Tinnitus is the perception of hearing the sound without any sound stimulus. It is a symptom of abnormality in a form of conductive disorder when it comes from the outer ear canal and middle ear. A tinnitus complaint has a normal hearing threshold but it has been not fully recognized its causes. Thus, an objective evaluation is needed to locate the abnormality by using OAE and BERA test. To analyze the association of TEOAE, DPOAE, and BERA to locate cochlear and retrocochlear disorders in tinnitus patients with normal hearing threshold. The study was conducted from August to November 2010 until the number of samples was fulfilled in Outpatient Clinic and Audiology Unit in Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya. The inclusion criteria in this study included: patients aged 20–50 years old, hearing threshold of ≤ 25 dB, type A tympanogram. The comparison and the association test of TEOAE, DPOAE and BERA in tinnitus group were: TEOAE–BERA analysis result using Mc Nemar obtained p = 0.006, Kappa p = 0.047, likelihood ratio p = 0.066, and the result of DPOAE–BERA analysis using Mc Nemar obtained p = 0.008, Kappa p = 0.439, likelihood ratio p = 0.336. There was a difference in the results of DPOAE examination between tinnitus patients with normal hearing threshold and the control group. There was no difference in TEOAE and BERA test results between tinnitus patients with normal hearing threshold and the control group. This indicates an abnormality in the cochlear. © 2018, Association of Otolaryngologists of India.