Threshold Measurement for Patients with Tinnitus: Pulsed or Continuous Tones

This study compared the effectiveness of pulsed tones (200 ms on/200 ms off) and continuous tones (1 to 2 s) for measuring thresholds in patients with tinnitus. Sixty veterans with tonal tinnitus and a history consistent with noise-induced hearing loss participated. Half were assigned to a pulsed-tone group; half were assigned to a continuous-tone group. Air-conduction thresholds were measured twice for each patient in a single session for octave intervals between 250 Hz and 4000 Hz. Results indicated no significant difference between groups for test-retest differences, but overall more presentations were required to measure thresholds with continuous tones than with pulsed tones at 4000 Hz. Moreover, the continuous-tone group had, on average, more false-positive responses than the pulsed-tone group. This study supports the clinical belief that pulsed tones are preferred over continuous tones for measuring thresholds for persons with tinnitus.