Auditory And Tinnitus Severity Assessment Of Tinnitus Patients In Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

ABSTRACT Background: Tinnitus is the perception of sound or noise without any external stimulation. It is a common problem worldwide affecting about 15% of the general population and approximately 19.3% of Ghanaians experience tinnitus. Tinnitus is found to be more prevalent in people with hearing loss of various degrees and types. However, there are tinnitus patients with normal hearing. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the auditory status, tinnitus severity and the existence of any significant associations between audiometric test outcome and tinnitus severity among tinnitus patients in KBTH. Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted in selecting 264 (152 males and 112 females) participants of ages 10 years and above. The auditory statuses of participants were assessed with pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry while Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) was used to measure the severity of participants’ tinnitus. Results: THI scores revealed ‘moderate’ (40.9%) as the most prevalent of the five levels of tinnitus severity. There was a non-significant association between age, gender, type, degree & configuration of hearing condition/loss, tympanograms and tinnitus severity. However, the chisquare test revealed a significant association between type and configuration of hearing condition/loss. Conclusion: The study concluded that the audiometric and tinnitus severity findings in KBTHGhana were useful for the development of appropriate health policies. Keywords: Tinnitus, Sensorineural, tympanometry, impedance.