PHYSIOPSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF TINNITUS ON QUALITY OF LIFE- A HOSPITAL BASED OBSERVATIONAL STUDY IN LUCKNOW

Abstract

Background: Tinnitus is a very common auditory disorder affecting approximately 10-15% of the population. Although tinnitus is commonly caused by auditory system damages, the role of emotional and psychological factors inducing and maintaining annoyance has been proven in recent tinnitus studies.

Objective: To evaluate the presence of sign and symptoms of stress in the patients with chronic, subjective tinnitus, and correlate its presence to annoyance associated with tinnitus.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. A questionnaire about medical history (including tinnitus) and sociopsychological exposure was taken as an interview. This analysis was restricted to the 560 subjects with self-reported tinnitus data. All scores were calculated according to the recommended guidelines and algorithms. Audiologic tests included pure-tone air and bone-conduction audiometry.

Results: Of the 560 patients included in the study, There was a predominance of females in the sample. Higher prevalence of tinnitus was seen in 50 years and above age group. The mostly observed medical condition was arthritis, followed by regular aspirin use and sinusitis. The least affecting conditions were cancer, followed by emphysema and ear infection in past years.

Conclusion: Age, gender, past medical history of arthritis, TMD and longer intake of aspirin and other NSAIDs directly affect the thresholds of high frequency audiometry. The hearing loss caused by tinnitus is moderate among individuals with hearing impairment. Thus tinnitus can cause psychosocial deformity with negative effects on quality of life.

Keywords: Arthritis, Hearing Disorders, Tinnitus, Psychosocial Stress, Quality of Life.