Objective  To analyze the characteristics of types of hearing curves in patients with tinnitus and the differences in tinnitus severity and treatment outcomes among patients with different types of hearing curves, to further explore the relationship between tinnitus and hearing loss, and to provide clinical evidence for exploring the etiology and treatment plans for tinnitus.

Methods  The basic information and the tinnitus and hearing data of the tinnitus patients who met the inclusion criteria were collected. The patients’ severity of tinnitus was assessed on a scale of grades I through V according to the grading standards of the tinnitus evaluation questionnaire (TEQ). According to the classification criteria for the different types of hearing curves, the tinnitus patients were categorized into 6 types, including normal hearing, high-frequency descending type, low-frequency descending type, partial descending type, flat descending type, and total deafness. We analyzed in multiple aspects the tinnitus status identified at the initial diagnosis and the treatment outcomes at the last diagnoses and follow-up in patients with different types of hearing curves.

Results  A total of 672 patients with tinnitus were included in this study, of which 183 had normal hearing, and 489 had varying degrees of hearing loss. According to the TEQ grading criteria for tinnitus assessment, the patients’ severity of tinnitus at the initial diagnosis was mainly concentrated in grades II and III, with 86 cases (12.79%) classified as grade I, 309 cases (45.98%) as grade II, 161 cases (23.96%) as grade III, 87 cases (12.95%) as grade IV, and 29 cases (4.32%) as grade V. Regarding the distribution of hearing curve types, tinnitus patients had predominantly hearing curves of the high-frequency descending type. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of tinnitus severity among patients with different types of hearing curves at the initial diagnosis (P<0.01). Among tinnitus patients with high-frequency descending hearing curve, there was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of hearing loss severity among patients with tinnitus of different degrees of severity. After uniform treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in treatment outcomes between patients with different types of audiometry curves at the time of the last diagnosis and the follow-up.

Conclusion  Despite significant differences in the severity of tinnitus among patients with different types of hearing curves at the initial diagnosis in this study, no clear association was found between tinnitus treatment outcomes and hearing curve types. Furthermore, no clear association was found between tinnitus and the degree of hearing loss in patients with the same type of hearing curve. Hence, further clinical evidence is warranted to assess the efficacy of selecting tinnitus treatment plans that are similar to those for sudden deafness based on the types of hearing curves.