# Validation and Expansion of Established Norms for Measures of Tinnitus Perception

> **NIH VA I01** · PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Our previous work has collected normative data for measures of both tinnitus perception and tinnitus functional
effects (reactions). Participants with chronic tinnitus, who were not receiving tinnitus-specific intervention,
completed tinnitus psychoacoustic measures and tinnitus questionnaires at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months. Participants
were included in each of six age ranges (18-30; 31-40; 41-50; 51-60; 61-70; 70+). These data will contribute to
age-specific reference values for the different measures once all data analyses are complete (final participant
testing occurred on October 30, 2018). The proposed study will extend and expand this effort by: (1) building
on the normative standards database by testing a cohort of new participants; (2) assessing long-term
repeatability of tinnitus psychoacoustic measures by obtaining additional longitudinal data from participants
recalled from the previous study; (3) developing methodology to evaluate individual pitch-perception ability and
providing training as needed; (4) evaluating the effect of pitch training on ability to match tinnitus pitch with
greater precision; and (5) continuing development of the tablet-based tinnitus evaluation system (TES) for
clinical utility by improving the interface and other performance features, and by creating a rapid assessment
program to obtain reliable loudness matches and pitch matches in under 10 minutes. To accomplish these
objectives, new participants will be enrolled into two separate cohorts of 150 and 100 individuals (total new
enrollment n=250). Both cohorts of new participants will meet the same inclusion criteria as used in the
previous study. The 150 new participants will undergo repeated testing at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months to
replicate testing as done during the previous study. The separate cohort of 100 new participants will be
enrolled to evaluate a training program for pitch matching. Of these, half will complete a program of pitch-
perception testing and training that will be administered prior to the start of baseline testing (comparison of
pitch matching data between groups with vs. without training will determine if the program improves within-
session reliability of the pitch matching test). Finally, a third cohort of 100 of the previous study's participants
will return to repeat testing ~3 years following their baseline testing to obtain long-term reliability data. In
addition to data collection, efforts will be ongoing to complete development and validation of the tablet-based
TES with the intent to ready this system for clinical application. A test protocol requiring 5-10 minutes is
needed for the TES to have the potential to achieve more widespread use among VA audiologists. A rapid TES
protocol will be developed, tested, and validated with a subset of participants to achieve this objective.
Completing the work described in this application will accomplish many objectives, including making tinnitus
psychoacoustic measures more useful an...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112759
- **Project number:** 5I01RX001205-06
- **Recipient organization:** PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES A HENRY
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-07-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112759

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112759, Validation and Expansion of Established Norms for Measures of Tinnitus Perception (5I01RX001205-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112759. Licensed CC0.

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