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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / March 2004How does one "measure" the loudness of tinnitus?
Hello, I've had tinnitus for as long as I remember. When I once spoke to a ENT about it, she said not to worry as I seem to be one of the patients that have gotten used to it. On second thoughts though, it would be nice to for once have relative silence. What I am interested to know though is how "loud" my tinnitus is on a scale from not loud to relaively loud. Does anyone know of a method? I could of course go to an ENT again, but perhaos there is another way. regards, Walter There is a method of measuring the loudness of your tinnitus, but unless you have a need to document it, it's really of little use. Your tinnitus is as loud as you think it is. Someone else may get measured at the same level, but perceive their tinnitus to be very loud, whereas you may think yours is mild. The level as measured doesn't reflect the impact it has. But then again, I understand the desire to know. I'm still quite curious about what mine would be measured at, but not enough to pursue it. Best of luck. Jeff > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > regards, > Walter > There is a method of measuring the loudness of your tinnitus, but unless you have a > need to document it, it's really of little use. Your tinnitus is as loud as you [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > regards, > > Walter Try this: I've got the TV set to a normal (for me) listening level. I'd put my T sound at about 1 1/2 times that volume. >From: "waechterdeswaldes" writes: >What I am interested to know though is how "loud" my tinnitus >is on a scale from not loud to relaively loud. Does anyone know of a method? ................ Hi Walter, When you can't eat, can't sleep and quit your job because you cant focus above the tinnitus - it's loud :) Since you have obviously already acclimated your T it's probably not a good idea to think about its volume. - jean "Marktvalu" <marktvalu@aol.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag: > >From: "waechterdeswaldes" writes: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Since you have obviously already acclimated your T it's probably not a good > idea to think about its volume. Hi Jean, the reason I am starting to think about it is that I am seriously wondering whether it has in fact effected my life in a negative way and that perhaps I'd could concentrate or sleep better if I did something against it, or that overall I'd feel "better" by knowing that it does have an effect, i.e. looking at a clouded sky and knowing, that you feel not so good because the sun isnt shining through.... Cheers, Walter >waechterdeswaldes@hotmail.com writes: > I am seriously wondering>whether it has in fact effected my life in a negative way and that perhaps>I'd>could concentrate or sleep better if I did something against it, ........................ Walter, You have already accomplished what 90% of our readers here are trying to achieve. Habituation of tinnitus. Maybe you could elaborte a little on how you accepted your tinnitus so graciously? jean "Marktvalu" <marktvalu@aol.com> schrieb: > > I am seriously wondering>whether it has in fact effected my life in a > negative way and that perhaps>I'd>could concentrate or sleep better if I did [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > jean Jean, it's a very simple human trait: to often accept the status quo until realising that it could be different or is not "normal". I have had tinnitus for as long as I remember and I only realised in my early 20s that a constant background noise is not normal -- until then I had never really thought about it. Now I am wondering whether it could be one of the cause of some psychological discomfort. Other than that it's not a case of accepting the tinnitus, but knowing there is (apparently) nothing I can do about it -- I often wish for a moment of silence. The moment when I became *really* conscious of having tinnitus is when I went into a floatation tank to relax, and couldnt relax because of the rining in my ears... except for when music played the first and last few minutes of the session. What I do believe though is that if I can find out more about my tinnitus, then perhaps I can understand things better. "Causal" explanations seem to put the mind at ease, even if it doesn't change a thing. Nevertheless, I do believe my tinnitus is probably "moderate". Walter > "Marktvalu" <marktvalu@aol.com> schrieb: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > > > jean If you really want to get a reading, you might check with a hearing specialist. I had mine checked and she gave me the Hz (9000) for the pitch and probably would have given me a decibel reading if I had thought to ask. But I wonder how accurate a decibel reading would be, because mine gets much louder (or seems to) as the day wears on. I was really in touch with my inner tinnitus in that sound proof booth. M. Most of the time, tinnitus loudness can be measured in a sound booth by an audiologist, and nearly all the time, the decibel level of the tinnitus is actually quite close to the point where people can barely begin to hear the sound (threshold). I would say that 99 percent of my patients identify the volume of the T within ten dB of threshold. However, this is true every time they come in, whether they hear the T as very loud or later, very soft. This means, clearly, that there is hardly any relationship between MEASURED T loudness and PERCEIVED T loudness. My own T, which is pretty quiet, measures the same as the people who come in with 'fire alarm' T. This is a reflection of the mechanism of the complicated brain pathways of audition which includes areas associated with emotion, well being, body-balance, cognition, and basic body functions called autonomous system.........this is really the fascinating area of T and H.............like an unexplored universe. Marsha Johnson, MS Yes, Marsha, and patients tested on different days by differerent audiologists usually give the same sound identity and volume. This consistancy helps in diagnosis and treatment. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com >I am wondering whether it could be one of the cause of some psychological discomfort. ............................. Walter, Most people suffer some psycological discomfort when they acquire tinnitus since they've lost their silence. When you speak of having some psycologial discomfort I am assuming you mean anxiety or perhaps depression. Anxiety and depression can magnify the intensity of tinnitus and the amount of *bad ear days*. Since you have already come to terms with T, I would venture to guess that there are other things going on (internal or external) that are causing you psycological or emotional discomfort at this time. I do agree that its important to find out everything you need to know about tinnitus. If you want "casual" and not so "casual" explanations and you can put up with some silliness in between this is the place for you. - jean :) In studies of Tinnitus treatment , we use tone and volume matching. It T is in right ear, we identify the tone, match it to the audiometer sounds. When this is identified, we present this sound at a lower or higher audiometer sound to the left ear, and try to match the volume in the right ear. With this method, various audiologists get fairly consistent results in the same patient. Another useful measure, is the volume at which a tinnitus sound is masked and for how long. Unless we measure the tinnitus , the studies are of little value. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com
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