Objective  To propose the terminology of acoustic hypersensitivity, and investigate its clinical features and relationship with tinnitus. Methods  A total of 214 patients with acoustic hypersensitivity or tinnitus as their first chief complaint were recruited and studied between January 2014 to January 2016. Detailed information of clinical manifestations, accompanying symptoms and related medical history were collected in the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity. Patients were instructed to complete the Hyperacusis Questionnaire and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale. The Tinnitus Evaluation Questionnaire was used to evaluate tinnitus severity in patients with tinnitus. Results  Among the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity as their first chief complaint, 93.3% had tinnitus; 47.3% of the patients with tinnitus as their first chief complaint had acoustic hypersensitivity and the prevalence of acoustic hypersensitivity increased as the tinnitus severity increased. In terms of onset of the two symptoms, simultaneous acoustic hypersensitivity and tinnitus occurred in 55.1% of the patients, acoustic hypersensitivity occurred after tinnitus in 34.7% of the patients, and acoustic hypersensitivity occurred before tinnitus in 10.2% of the patients. Most patients with acoustic hypersensitivity as the first chief complaint felt uncomfortable to any sounds that are louder than usual. The main manifestations included feeling disturbed, echoing in the ear or head, ear fullness or pain. Discomfort in 68.6% of the patients disappeared when there was no environmental sound. It was found that hearing loss, ear fullness, vertigo, and anxiety were usually present in patients with acoustic hypersensitivity, and 28.6% of the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity had a history of noise exposure. Conclusions  Acoustic hypersensitivity occurs together with tinnitus for the majority of time, which shows a close relationship between these two symptoms. However, acoustic hypersensitivity shows different clinical manifestations from tinnitus. It is important to unify the terminology and standardize the concept of acoustic hypersensitivity among clinicians. It is also critical to conduct more clinical research in terms of diagnosing and evaluating acoustic hypersensitivity.

Citation： LIU Peng, CHEN Yanfang, LU Jingzhe, GUO Enqin. Clinical features of acoustic hypersensitivity and its relationship with tinnitus. West China Medical Journal, 2017, 32(4): 545-549. doi: 10.7507/1002-0179.201612135 Copy