Can Tinnitus Affect Audiogram / Hearing Test Results?

[Sarah Cawthorne]

Hi. I had hearing test back in September along with the pressure test. Everything was fine.

Then yesterday I had another hearing test which showed mild hearing loss. I felt like I couldn't hear the tones because my tinnitus was loud that day. Can tinnitus affect your hearing test results?

 

[Mister Muso]

It's possible. Or the hearing loss could be progressing at its own pace. Did you get any temporary hearing loss when you first got tinnitus?

 

[Sarah Cawthorne]

Hi. I had my hearing test last week and result came back as mild hearing loss. My tinnitus was loud that day and I felt like I couldn't hear the beeps much because of the ringing.

Can tinnitus make you fail the hearing test?

 

[ajc]

Can tinnitus make you fail the hearing test?

It can affect it.

Do another test and compare the results. If they are the same then you know tinnitus isn't the reason.

 

[PeteJ]

Hi. I had hearing test back in September along with the pressure test. Everything was fine.

Then yesterday I had another hearing test which showed mild hearing loss. I felt like I couldn't hear the tones because my tinnitus was loud that day. Can tinnitus affect your hearing test results?

I think so. How can you hear their tones if your tinnitus is really loud?

 

[PeteJ]

It can affect it.

Do another test and compare the results. If they are the same then you know tinnitus isn't the reason.

Not necessarily unless she can take the test with tinnitus at a reduced volume. That is only possible if you have predictable fluctuationing tinnitus.

 

[Tybs]

Can tinnitus affect your hearing test results?

Absolutely. I've had three audiograms: the first one was ok, the second had one clear dip at 8 kHz, the third was outstanding. My T was quite low when I had the third one.

As I see it, an audiogram only proves positives, not negatives. In a sense of that it proves that you can hear e.g. 6 kHz at 20 dB without trouble, but if you did not catch a different frequenty or volume, then it is still not proven that your ears are uncapable of hearing it. All that it says for sure, is that you could not distinguish the given tone/volume at that moment.

It's a tricky thing to work with, but sadly the best available right now. If you have reason to assume hearing loss itself is not your issue, try having a test at a moment where your T is low, assuming you can somehow time that...

Let's hope that at some point, a device is developed that objectively can measure your exact hearing ranges. This would help research in T a lot, as doctors could then start separating patients in subgroups a bit more reliably (hearing loss induced vs. other source of T). It still wouldn't be perfect for people with hearing loss that get their T from another origin after all, but it could at least exclude those without hearing loss.

 

[Eric N]

No according to the audiologists I've asked this question. If you can't hear the tone the most likely have hearing loss.

 

[Tybs]

No according to the audiologists I've asked this question. If you can't hear the tone the most likely have hearing loss.

This makes me curious. How is someone supposed to hear a minor tone when their tinnitus is screaming over it? We know that there are more inputs for sounds than just the ears (i.e. bone conduction), so how can we exclude the hypothesis that T is related to a skull issue rather than hearing loss?

 

[PeteJ]

No according to the audiologists I've asked this question. If you can't hear the tone the most likely have hearing loss.

What if you can't hear it because of loud tinnitus tones?!? How can the hearing loss be measured then?

I don't know how often someone with no measurable hearing loss has loud tinnitus but even if loud tinnitus is a sign or indicator of probable hearing loss, I think that loud tinnitus makes it way more difficult to take a hearing test and I wonder if an audiogram can even be accurate.

 

[Eric N]

What if you can't hear it because of loud tinnitus tones?!? How can the hearing loss be measured then?

I don't know how often someone with no measurable hearing loss has loud tinnitus but even if loud tinnitus is a sign or indicator of probable hearing loss, I think that loud tinnitus makes it way more difficult to take a hearing test and I wonder if an audiogram can even be accurate.

.
You can still hear the tone even with tinnitus, of course I don't know if I would have scored better without the tinnitus, but I've had countless audio-grams in the 7 years and all of them have the same results despite the many spikes have had. I have normal hearing - my worst notch is 20 dB @ 3kHz - and very severe tinnitus loud enough to be heard in the shower and more than ten tones.

 

[Tybs]

.
You can still hear the tone even with tinnitus, of course I don't know if I would have scored better without the tinnitus, but I've had countless audio-grams in the 7 years and all of them have the same results despite the many spikes have had. I have normal hearing - my worst notch is 20 dB @ 3kHz - and very severe tinnitus loud enough to be heard in the shower and more than ten tones.

I've had three audiograms so far, and I scored the best by far (no hearing loss at all) on a low tinnitus day. Combined with the diagnosis that my tinnitus is caused by a neck issue, I'm quite sure that it does affect the test results. With all the fluctuating sounds I have at different frequencies/volumes and the bonus of hearing heartrate when I have a headset on, I'm quite sure that a bad tinnitus day does affect test results to quite an extend.

 

[Eric N]

I've had three audiograms so far, and I scored the best by far (no hearing loss at all) on a low tinnitus day. Combined with the diagnosis that my tinnitus is caused by a neck issue, I'm quite sure that it does affect the test results. With all the fluctuating sounds I have at different frequencies/volumes and the bonus of hearing heartrate when I have a headset on, I'm quite sure that a bad tinnitus day does affect test results to quite an extend.

Hard to tell anyways, with the margin of error being up to 15 dB.

 

[PaulBe]

I would have thought that if your tinnitus was too loud for you to hear the test sounds, then that is a reasonably objective measure of the state of your hearing, regardless of whether its lost neural function or loud tinnitus masking. That is the snapshot of your hearing at that time. You'd need to do a series of repeats to get a more detailed picture.

 

[Tybs]

I would have thought that if your tinnitus was too loud for you to hear the test sounds, then that is a reasonably objective measure of the state of your hearing, regardless of whether its lost neural function or loud tinnitus masking. That is the snapshot of your hearing at that time. You'd need to do a series of repeats to get a more detailed picture.

That is a reasonable conclusion that I can agree on

 

[CHLOE_EE]

I had my first audiogram yesterday, and my T fluctuates in pitch and tone from high kettle whistle to Morse Code, and it's off and on, only left ear. I can have quiet all day, then spikes, then quiet all night, then the next day high kettle whitsle/Morse Code all day and all night.

I have had the T since September 2019, to be honest I didn't think much of it at first, I thought a cold was developing .. nope. So, I started a T diary..what makes it worse, etc..I have had dizzy spells through out my life but the ENT yesterday dismissed Mineres because I don't have vertigo/with nausea for long periods of time.

My T was high during the audiogram so my left ear did show signs of high frequency loss, which is what the ENT said was the cause of my T.

I do not believe this tho, as I have several periods and even half days of quiet...

I have a 2nd opinion - and 2nd audiogram booked forJanuary.

Yesterdays ENT said to cut back salt, exercise more, pink noise at night, ear plugs to protect hearing, and live with the T..he said there was no fluid, no wax, nothing irregular with the ear..

But, there is no way the audiogram was proper with a whistling T in my left ear. My hearing was actually very good, I am 49...but at 8,000 HZ my left side took a dip as the T was roaring..

I would get a few more audiograms..not that I am an expert, I am only 3 months into this, and trying my best to cope.

 

[BobDigi]

Hi. I had hearing test back in September along with the pressure test. Everything was fine.

Then yesterday I had another hearing test which showed mild hearing loss. I felt like I couldn't hear the tones because my tinnitus was loud that day. Can tinnitus affect your hearing test results?

It's got too surely. My tinnitus is so loud how could I hear faint sounds? I have a fuckin fire alarm going off in my ear!

 

[Juan]

Hi. I had hearing test back in September along with the pressure test. Everything was fine.

Then yesterday I had another hearing test which showed mild hearing loss. I felt like I couldn't hear the tones because my tinnitus was loud that day. Can tinnitus affect your hearing test results?

It doesn't matter if tinnitus affected the results or not because standard audiometric tests are worthless, since they don't measure the ability to understand sounds with meaning (speech, the radio, songs in the background) in real life scenarios, with some background noise etc

 

[Tybs]

My T was high during the audiogram so my left ear did show signs of high frequency loss, which is what the ENT said was the cause of my T.

I do not believe this tho, as I have several periods and even half days of quiet...

There. Exactly thát is my primary issue with most ENT's I've had. Conclusions are drawn based on one test, a test that logically only proofs what sounds you can distinguish, and not what your ears cannot perceive. The test is not even objective, and the conclusion is quite premature.

Hearing loss is a póssible cause which should be investigated further, next to other options: but some of them refuse to go down that road once you have one minor dip in the test results, even declaring other results to be invalid or outdated (one month difference in my case).

It's this ignorance that can make my blood boil. Most of your job is based on science, so investigate in a scientific way already...

(Nothing bad to say about the ENT's that are open to other options, just venting a bit )

 

[CHLOE_EE]

There. Exactly thát is my primary issue with most ENT's I've had. Conclusions are drawn based on one test, a test that logically only proofs what sounds you can distinguish, and not what your ears cannot perceive. The test is not even objective, and the conclusion is quite premature.

Yes, There is no possible way to have properly diagnosed my left ear as it whistled away...

I have been to 4 specialist in the past 3 months to figure this out...

I have been to the dentist, do not have TMJ BUT chew gum, often which has made the neck, jaw muscles tight - I am weaning that way way down and have to phase out the gum. I went to the orthopedist who did X-rays and I do have forward posture (neck forward); so I went to the Chiro for the first 9 weeks of my T and there was no real change and the neck adjustments, were aggressive and hurt afterwards, adjustments were not something I wanted to keep up. The Chiro recommended a "posture pump," which seems to help the T quiet down...and to lay my neck backwards over a frozen water bottle for 10 mins a day to keep inflammation down and that also seems to help. Salt and days of no working out/walking dogs, makes the T worse..I have been tracking the T since it began out on nowhere September 16th (2019)..

My T can quiet down by moving my head sometimes, not always, that's why I know it cannot be high frequency hearing loss...for example the T was howling all Monday and Tuesday, got quiet last night down to nothing from 11 pm to 5 am and when I woke up the first thing I thought was OMG its quiet, it was so quiet and enjoyable I didn't bother falling back to sleep, hearing silence was priceless...honestly, every time I hear silence now, it might be for the last time. The T started up again after my morning coffee, am cutting that down from 3 cups to 1 1/2...and the T has been in and out all day - but much much lower since I drastically cut down on salt, starting Monday and have worked out Monday & Tuesday and today, and am doing my neck stretches. Dr. Berg on Youtube has some good ones if you think your T is being caused by the 8th nerve (I forget what) which I believe is my case....

So, I have been to a dentist, a chiro, an ENT and an orthopedist ... trying to pin point this horror show..I also use Sensodyne and do have a cracked filling that is being tended to next week, could have started after my last appt 5 months ago..who knows. But the Sendodyne is in the garbage since reading this forum..back to Crest...my T - sounds like electricity or high frequency/Morse Code/kettle whiste..

I have to say I am extremely sorry that we are all dealing with this, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...

 

[Tybs]

Yes, There is no possible way to have properly diagnosed my left ear as it whistled away...

I have been to 4 specialist in the past 3 months to figure this out...

I have been to the dentist, do not have TMJ BUT chew gum, often which has made the neck, jaw muscles tight - I am weaning that way way down and have to phase out the gum. I went to the orthopedist who did X-rays and I do have forward posture (neck forward); so I went to the Chiro for the first 9 weeks of my T and there was no real change and the neck adjustments, were aggressive and hurt afterwards, adjustments were not something I wanted to keep up. The Chiro recommended a "posture pump," which seems to help the T quiet down...and to lay my neck backwards over a frozen water bottle for 10 mins a day to keep inflammation down and that also seems to help. Salt and days of no working out/walking dogs, makes the T worse..I have been tracking the T since it began out on nowhere September 16th (2019)..

My T can quiet down by moving my head sometimes, not always, that's why I know it cannot be high frequency hearing loss...for example the T was howling all Monday and Tuesday, got quiet last night down to nothing from 11 pm to 5 am and when I woke up the first thing I thought was OMG its quiet, it was so quiet and enjoyable I didn't bother falling back to sleep, hearing silence was priceless...honestly, every time I hear silence now, it might be for the last time. The T started up again after my morning coffee, am cutting that down from 3 cups to 1 1/2...and the T has been in and out all day - but much much lower since I drastically cut down on salt, starting Monday and have worked out Monday & Tuesday and today, and am doing my neck stretches. Dr. Berg on Youtube has some good ones if you think your T is being caused by the 8th nerve (I forget what) which I believe is my case....

So, I have been to a dentist, a chiro, an ENT and an orthopedist ... trying to pin point this horror show..I also use Sensodyne and do have a cracked filling that is being tended to next week, could have started after my last appt 5 months ago..who knows. But the Sendodyne is in the garbage since reading this forum..back to Crest...my T - sounds like electricity or high frequency/Morse Code/kettle whiste..

I have to say I am extremely sorry that we are all dealing with this, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...

Your story is similar to mine in a lot of aspects. I've been monitoring my T a lot in the first few months, experienced minutes of silence (refusing to sleep at those moments), found out I could influence my T in many ways using neck and chin motion/pressure, and plenty more. Yet here in Holland, all the specialists were tunnel visioning on the ears, dismissing any other possible cause: only in Germany, they took my symptoms seriously and looked further than the ears. The specialist there eventually pretty much ruled out hearing loss, psychiological issues and TMJ, and explained to me that either the neck muscles or my blood flow should cause the issues, most likely the neck. He made no promises, but he thought it likely for me to improve if I treat my neck accordingly.

So I continued my physiotherapy, which I'm still doing right now. And what do you know: since last weekend, I've been experiencing moments during the day where I'm tinnitus-free, and not just during the night. Still only short periods of 15 min max, but I'm slowly seeing improvements. Not writing a success story yet though, I still have bad times as well.

Don't get me wrong, I love living in my country, and I keep our health system in high regard: but there are some cases where specialists could try to expand their views a bit.

Only you can truly know your own symptoms. Investigate them accordingly, you might also find your way to go.

 

[Martinf]

Yes the tinnitus will affect your Audiometry results. Imagine your tinnitus is a pure tone at 8kHz for example, you wouldn't hear tones ∓ 8kHz clearly, and that's because they get mixed with what you hear in your ears/brain. Me personally I've come up with much better results regarding hearing high frequencies when my tinnitus was faint.