Sound generator associated with the counseling in the treatment of tinnitus: evaluation of the effectiveness

The relations between the tinnitus and the hearing loss are due to the sensory deprivation caused by hearing loss, since this is followed by the functional and structural alteration of the auditory system as a whole. The cochlear lesions are accompanied by a reduction in the activity of the cochlear nerve, and the neural activity keeps increased in mainly all the central auditory nervous system to compensate this deficit. This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of the sound generator (SG) associated with the counseling in the treatment of the tinnitus in individuals with and without hearing loss regarding the improvement of the nuisance through Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The sample consisted of 30 individuals of both genders divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1) was comprised of 15 individuals with tinnitus and normal hearing, adapted to SG; Group 2 (G2) was comprised of 15 individuals with complaints of hearing acuity and tinnitus, adapted with SG and an individual hearing aid device (HA). Both groups underwent the following procedures: anamnesis and history of complaint, high frequency audiometry (HFA), imitanciometry, acuphenometry with the survey of psychoacoustic pitch and loudness thresholds and application of the tools THI and VAS. All of them were adapted with HA and Siemens SG and participated in a session of counseling. The individuals were assessed in three situations: initial assessment (before the adaptation of the HA and SG), monitoring and final assessment (6 months after adaptation). The comparison of the tinnitus nuisance and handicap in the three stages of assessment showed a significant improvement for both groups. The use of the SG was similarly effective in the treatment of the tinnitus in individuals with and without hearing loss, causing an improvement of the nuisance and handicap. As relações entre o zumbido e a perda de audição advêm da privação sensorial causada pela perda auditiva, uma vez que esta é seguida pela alteração estrutural e funcional do sistema auditivo no seu conjunto. As lesões cocleares são acompanhadas por uma redução da atividade do nervo coclear e a atividade neuronal mantém-se aumentada em principalmente todo o Sistema Nervoso Auditivo Central para compensar este déficit. Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a eficácia do Gerador de Som (GS) associado ao aconselhamento no tratamento do zumbido em indivíduos com e sem perda auditiva em relação à melhora do incômod