Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29253030›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Comparisons of auditory brainstem response and sound level tolerance in tinnitus ears and non-tinnitus ears in unilateral tinnitus patients with normal audiograms.

Hyun Joon Shim, Yong-Hwi An, Dong Hyun Kim, Ji Eun Yoon, Ji Hyang Yoon

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. [Research progress on the mechanism of auditory center remodeling and clinical intervention strategies in presbycusis].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2026
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  13. The Relation of Sound Level Tolerance to Tinnitus Ears in Human.The journal of international advanced otology · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Hyun Joon ShimDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University School of Medicine, Eulji Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9719-6959
Yong-Hwi AnDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University School of Medicine, Eulji Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Dong Hyun KimDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University School of Medicine, Eulji Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Ji Eun YoonDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University School of Medicine, Eulji Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Ji Hyang YoonDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University School of Medicine, Eulji Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Eulji University · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveRecently, "hidden hearing loss" with cochlear synaptopathy has been suggested as a potential pathophysiology of tinnitus in individuals with a normal hearing threshold. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with tinnitus and normal audiograms show significantly reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes compared with control subjects, but normal wave V amplitudes, suggesting increased central auditory gain. We aimed to reconfirm the "hidden hearing loss" theory through a within-subject comparison of wave I and wave V amplitudes and uncomfortable loudness level (UCL), which might be decreased with increased central gain, in tinnitus ears (TEs) and non-tinnitus ears (NTEs). SUBJECTS AND

methodsHuman subjects included 43 unilateral tinnitus patients (19 males, 24 females) with normal and symmetric hearing thresholds and 18 control subjects with normal audiograms. The amplitudes of wave I and V from the peak to the following trough were measured twice at 90 dB nHL and we separately assessed UCLs at 500 Hz and 3000 Hz pure tones in each TE and NTE.

resultsThe within-subject comparison between TEs and NTEs showed no significant differences in wave I and wave V amplitude, or wave V/I ratio in both the male and female groups. Individual data revealed increased V/I amplitude ratios > mean + 2 SD in 3 TEs, but not in any control ears. We found no significant differences in UCL at 500 Hz or 3000 Hz between the TEs and NTEs, but the UCLs of both TEs and NTEs were lower than those of the control ears.

conclusionsOur ABR data do not represent meaningful evidence supporting the hypothesis of cochlear synaptopathy with increased central gain in tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. However, reduced sound level tolerance in both TEs and NTEs might reflect increased central gain consequent on hidden synaptopathy that was subsequently balanced between the ears by lateral olivocochlear efferents.

Indexed as

Audiometry, Pure-ToneSoundAdultAuditory ThresholdCase-Control StudiesEarEvoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain StemFemaleHumansMaleTinnitus

Identifiers

PMID29253030
PMCPMC5734686
OpenAlexW2778848544

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.