Ryodoraku pattern classifications of tinnitus patients using cluster analysis

Abstract

Objective : The aim of this study is to classify the patterns of Ryodoraku using cluster analysis on tinnitus patients. Method : 261 patients with tinnitus and 159 patients with other disease were analyzed. We used cluster analysis with SPSS 20.0 to classify the pattern of Ryodoraku. We searched the cluster characteristics and tried to interpret the specific patterns from previous studies. Result : We divided tinnitus patients to four groups and control patients to five groups. There were some shared patterns between tinnitus group and control group. One group on tinnitus patients showed lower age than other groups. Time, sex, total average did not show any differences among groups. Conclusion : Cluster analysis on tinnitus patients showed the possibility of presenting the specific Ryodoraku patterns. But because of weak Ryodoraku studies, clinical usefulness is unknown. Further study is needed.