Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Functional Consequences of Tinnitus in Military Service Members. |
| Authors: |
Sherlock, LaGuinn P.1,2 laguinnsherlock@gmail.com, Ellis, Gregory M.2, Brungart, Douglas S.2 |
| Source: |
American Journal of Audiology. Sep2025, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p537-550. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: |
*Self-evaluation, *Auditory perception testing, *Intelligibility of speech, *Audiometry, *Longitudinal method, *Machine learning, *Short-term memory, *Psychological tests, *Algorithms, Random forest algorithms, Prediction models, Research funding, Functional assessment, Questionnaires, Selectivity (Psychology), Descriptive statistics, Tinnitus, Military service, Military personnel, Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics) |
| Geographic Terms: |
United States |
| Abstract: |
Purpose: Numerous individuals in the United States are bothered enough by tinnitus that it affects normal daily activities, including sleep and concentration. There is a high prevalence of self-reported bothersome tinnitus in the U.S. military, and therefore, it is important to assess the impact of tinnitus on functional performance. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of tinnitus on a range of subjective, objective, auditory, and cognitive measures. A secondary aim was to determine which factors best predict whether individuals ever self-reported tinnitus. A prospective study was conducted to address the primary aim, and an exploratory machine learning approach was used to address the second. Method: The study included 463 active duty U.S. Service members being seen for annual hearing surveillance. Participants completed several auditory and cognitive tests, along with questionnaires regarding tinnitus, depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulty. Results: The primary aim found no significant performance differences on tasks of selective attention, short-term memory, or speech in noise between the tinnitus groups. However, there were significant group differences in extended high-frequency hearing. A machine learning algorithm was used to predict whether an individual self-reported experiencing tinnitus. The model had approximately 80% accuracy, excellent sensitivity, and modest specificity. Conclusions: Study findings corroborated other evidence that extended high-frequency thresholds are poorer in those who reported ever experiencing tinnitus, regardless of tinnitus bother. Our results suggest that combining results from audiometric testing, high-frequency hearing, and subjective assessment of sleep achieved 80% accuracy in predicting tinnitus presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|
Copyright of American Journal of Audiology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Education Research Complete |
