Axelsson Alf, Prasher Deepak
Institute of Laryngology and Otology, University College of London, 330 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8EE, UK.
Noise Health. 2000;2(8):47-54.
Noise exposure is the most common cause of tinnitus. Noise induced permanent tinnitus (NIPT) can derive from occupational noise exposure, leisure noise or acoustic trauma. In general NIPT is high - pitched and tonal. The most common observed frequency of tinnitus on pitch matching is the same as the worst frequency for hearing. The sensation level of NIPT is usually low and sometimes negative. There is no correlation of significance between the discomfort caused by NIPT and audiometric findings. In occupational NIPT the interval between the start of noisy work and the appearance of tinnitus is long (many years) but with leisure noise and acoustic trauma the interval between exposure and tinnitus is frequently very short (immediate). It is a problem that the incidence of musically induced tinnitus is increasingly more common. It is also a much greater handicap for a young individual to suffer from tinnitus than from a small high tone hearing loss. Much more attention needs to be given to improve these matters. The treatment of NIPT is not different from tinnitus treatment in general.
