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Identifying Tinnitus Subgroups With Cluster Analysis
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Identifying Tinnitus Subgroups With Cluster Analysis

Richard Tyler, Claudia Coelho, Pan Tao, Haihong Ji, William Noble, Anne Gehringer and Stephanie Gogel
American journal of audiology, Vol.17(2), pp.S176-S184
12/2008
DOI: 10.1044/1059-0889(2008/07-0044)
PMCID: PMC2668860
PMID: 19056922
url
http://doi.org/10.1044/1059-0889(2008/07-0044)View
Open Access

Abstract

Purpose: We believe it is important to uncover tinnitus subgroups to identify subsets of patients most likely to benefit from different treatments. We review strategies for subgrouping based on etiology, subjective reports, the audiogram, psychoacoustics, imaging, and cluster analysis. Method: Preliminary results of a 2-step cluster analysis based on 246 participants from whom we had 26 categorical and 25 continuous variables were determined. Results: A 4-cluster solution suggested the following subgroups: (a) constant distressing tinnitus, (b) varying tinnitus that is worse in noise, (c) tinnitus patients who are copers and whose tinnitus is not influenced by touch (somatic modulation), and (d) tinnitus patients who are copers but whose tinnitus is worse in quiet environments. Conclusions: Subgroups of tinnitus patients can be identified by using statistical approaches. The subgroups we identify here represent a preliminary attempt at identifying such patients. One next step would be to explore clinical trials of tinnitus treatments based on subgroup analyses or on using subgroups in the selection criteria. Tinnitus is a symptom but likely has many causes. It may be the case that any single treatment will not be effective for treating all tinnitus patients but that different treatments will be needed for different subgroups. There is a long-standing interest in the identification of these subgroups. For example, Tyler and Baker (1983) observed that some tinnitus sufferers avoided noisy situations, whereas others avoided quiet situations. They postulated that “these contrasts may suggest two subcategories of tinnitus [patients]” (Tyler & Baker, 1983, p. 152). Tyler (1984) observed that “psychophysical masking studies suggests there are different types of tinnitus” (p. 43). In this article, we briefly review some possible strategies for determining tinnitus subgroups and then focus on some preliminary data from questionnaires and psychoacoustic measures using a cluster analysis.

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