Tinnitus has no objective diagnostic test and is diagnosed by self-report alone

Evidence

The prevalence of tinnitus, the perception of a sound in its absence, in the population is rising, along with a greater number of people presenting with sensorineural hearing loss. For the military, tinnitus is an increasing problem, as it is currently the #1 service-connected disability. Unfortunately, there is no current diagnostic test for tinnitus, and all diagnoses are made on the basis of self-report. Animal and human studies are currently under way that may ultimately lead to diagnostic tests, but to date, diagnoses are made in conjunction with self-report, case history, and characterization of tinnitus. Tinnitus is generally considered to have loudness, quality (i.e., a timbre), and a pitch. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1741

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines tinnitus as ‘the perception of a sound in its absence’ and describes its attributes (loudness, timbre, pitch).
• XREF: Ties to psychoacoustic measurement methods discussed earlier in the book — matching loudness, pitch, and timbre to characterize a phantom percept.