Comparing OAE and ABR Tests in Tinnitus Patients with and without Hearing Loss

Background: Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of any external stimulus. It may be generated by abnormalities in both peripheral or central auditory system. The auditory tests are useful tools for the evaluation of tinnitus origin. Purpose: In this study, we compared the results of OAE( Otoacoustic Emissions) and ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) hearing tests among patients with tinnitus without hearing loss and patients with tinnitus and hearing loss. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients with tinnitus were enrolled and were divided into two groups; a group without hearing loss and other group with hearing loss. DPOAE (Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions) TEOAE (Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions), and ABR were performed for all patients with tinnitus referring to ENT clinic of Taleghani Hospital during 2014. Results: In the present study, 60 patients with a mean age of 52.76±15.69, including 37 (61.7%) male and 23 (38.3%) female, were studied. Patients without hearing loss were younger than those with hearing loss (P=0.001). The mean Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) in the group without hearing loss in both ears was significantly lower than patients with hearing loss (P=0.001). The difference between two groups regarding ABR in right ear in waves I, V, and I-V was statistically significant (P<0.05). In patients without hearing loss there was a significant difference between two age groups (>55 and ≤55 years) in wave III of ABR in left ear (P=0.03).