Listening Effort in Tinnitus Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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About 5-15% of the general population experience a chronic ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring sound in one or two ears, without any external source. This so-called tinnitus can be present in people with normal hearing, but often coexists with hearing loss. Most people suffering from tinnitus can cope with it, however a minority experiences emotional distress or cognitive dysfunction as a result of the tinnitus, called tinnitus disorder. People suffering from tinnitus disorder regularly complain about an increased experienced effort when listening to speech or other sounds in daily life situations. As this has never been proven scientifically, the investigators aim to evaluate the effect of the tinnitus percept and tinnitus disorder on experienced listening effort by comparing listening effort between a population with tinnitus disorder and a population without tinnitus.

Official Title
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Assessment of Listening Effort in Tinnitus Patients

Conditions
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Listening Effort, Tinnitus

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Tinnitus simulation


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Young adults, i.e. 18-40 year old; Hearing thresholds better than 30 dB HL at all octave frequencies 0.25-8.0 kHz; Proficient and native speaker of Dutch language; TINNITUS GROUP: Severe unilateral or bilateral tinnitus disorder (TQ > 46). CONTROL GROUP: No tinnitus. Exclusion Criteria: Significant asymmetric hearing loss: |PTAright - PTAleft| > 8 dB (PTA = pure tone average of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz); Significant loss of vision (text on screen at 70 cm should be readable); Frequent user of any of the following devices: Hearing Aid, Bone Conduction Device, Cochlear Implant, Tinnitus Masker; Additional mental or physical disabilities that may prevent active participation and testing as per protocol.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 39 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Tinnitus group<br>Young adults, i.e. 18-40 year old; Hearing thresholds better than 30 dB Hearing Level (HL) at all octave frequencies 0.25-8.0 kilohertz (kHz); Proficient and native speaker of Dutch language; Severe unilateral or bilateral tinnitus disorder (TQ > 46). | |
| Control group<br>Young adults, i.e. 18-40 year old; Hearing thresholds better than 30 dB HL at all octave frequencies 0.25-8.0 kHz; Proficient and native speaker of Dutch language; No tinnitus. | Behavioral: Tinnitus simulation<br>* The control group will perform speech perception tests and listening effort tests in the absence and presence of a simulated tinnitus percept using a bone vibrator.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Listening effort | Subjective listening effort as a function of the speech reception threshold (SRT) | 1 day | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Listening effort predictability of tinnitus related questionnaire: TQ | Relative importance of sub scales of tinnitus related questionnaires for predicting the amount of listening effort in tinnitus patients: Tinnitus Questionnaire (score 0-84, higher score = more tinnitus disorder) | 1 day | 
| Listening effort predictability of tinnitus related questionnaire: TFI | Relative importance of sub scales of tinnitus related questionnaires for predicting the amount of listening effort in tinnitus patients: Tinnitus Functional Index (score 0-100, higher score = more negative impact of tinnitus) | 1 day | 
| Listening effort predictability of tinnitus related questionnaire: HADS | Relative importance of sub scales of tinnitus related questionnaires for predicting the amount of listening effort in tinnitus patients: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (score 0-21, higher score = more anxiety and/or depression) | 1 day |