TY - JOUR
T1 - Functional impact of bothersome tinnitus on cognitive test performance
AU - Sherlock, La Guinn P.
AU - Brungart, Douglas S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©, This work was authored as part of the Contributor's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Objective: Individuals with bothersome tinnitus frequently report their concentration is affected. Given that tinnitus is the leading service-connected disability compensated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is essential to determine whether tinnitus has a functional impact on the operational performance of Service members. Previous studies demonstrated that people with tinnitus perform more poorly on cognitive tests of selective attention and memory than those without tinnitus. This study aimed to compare performance between participants with and without tinnitus on visually based tests of selective attention (flanker task) and short-term memory (spatial letter location) that were self-administered under three auditory conditions (quiet, broadband noise and speech) using a tablet-based test protocol. Design: Experimental Study sample: Thirty participants with bothersome tinnitus and 30 control participants, matched for age and hearing loss. Results: The results revealed a significantly larger flanker effect and shorter memory span in the tinnitus group compared to the control group, consistent with previous studies. Performance accuracy was comparable between the groups. Conclusions: The results suggest bothersome tinnitus may affect cognitive efficiency more than cognitive performance. The tablet-based protocol has the potential to be implemented clinically as a functional measure of the impact of bothersome tinnitus on concentration.
AB - Objective: Individuals with bothersome tinnitus frequently report their concentration is affected. Given that tinnitus is the leading service-connected disability compensated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is essential to determine whether tinnitus has a functional impact on the operational performance of Service members. Previous studies demonstrated that people with tinnitus perform more poorly on cognitive tests of selective attention and memory than those without tinnitus. This study aimed to compare performance between participants with and without tinnitus on visually based tests of selective attention (flanker task) and short-term memory (spatial letter location) that were self-administered under three auditory conditions (quiet, broadband noise and speech) using a tablet-based test protocol. Design: Experimental Study sample: Thirty participants with bothersome tinnitus and 30 control participants, matched for age and hearing loss. Results: The results revealed a significantly larger flanker effect and shorter memory span in the tinnitus group compared to the control group, consistent with previous studies. Performance accuracy was comparable between the groups. Conclusions: The results suggest bothersome tinnitus may affect cognitive efficiency more than cognitive performance. The tablet-based protocol has the potential to be implemented clinically as a functional measure of the impact of bothersome tinnitus on concentration.
KW - Tinnitus
KW - attention
KW - cognitive performance
KW - flanker effect
KW - memory
KW - reaction time
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106246620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14992027.2021.1909760
DO - 10.1080/14992027.2021.1909760
M3 - Article
C2 - 34028309
AN - SCOPUS:85106246620
SN - 1499-2027
VL - 60
SP - 1000
EP - 1008
JO - International Journal of Audiology
JF - International Journal of Audiology
IS - 12
ER -