Tinnitus and Demography

For those who are interested in statistics, see attached file.

Hearing Difficulties and Tinnitus in Construction, Agricultural, Music, and Finance Industries: Contributions of Demographic, Health, and Lifestyle Factors

 

Audiometric Predictors of Bothersome Tinnitus in a Large Clinical Cohort of Adults With Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To identify demographic and audiometric predictors of bothersome tinnitus within a large clinical cohort.

STUDY DESIGN:
Retrospective chart review.

SETTING:
Tertiary care hospital.

PATIENTS:
51,989 English-speaking patients between 18 and 80 years of age that received initial audiometric evaluations at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary between the years 2000 and 2016.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Patients were categorized according to whether or not tinnitus was the primary reason for their visit. The likelihood of tinnitus as a primary complaint (TPC) was evaluated as a function of age, sex, and audiometric configuration. Patient-reported tinnitus percepts were qualitatively assessed in relation to audiometric configuration.

RESULTS:
Approximately 20% of adults who presented for an initial hearing evaluation reported TPC. The prevalence of TPC increased with advancing age until approximately 50 to 54 years, and then declined thereafter. In general, men were significantly more likely to report TPC than women. TPC was statistically associated with specific audiogram configurations. In particular, TPC was most prevalent for notched and steeply sloping hearing losses, but was relatively uncommon in adults with flat losses. Patients with frequency-restricted threshold shifts often reported tonal tinnitus percepts, while patients with asymmetric configurations tended to report broadband percepts.

CONCLUSIONS:
The probability of seeking audiological evaluation for bothersome tinnitus is highest for males, middle-aged patients, and those with notched or high-frequency hearing losses. These findings support the theory that tinnitus arises from sharp discontinuities in peripheral afferent innervation and cochlear amplification, which may induce topographically restricted changes in the central auditory pathway.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31985705

 

Tinnitus and its associations with general health, mental health and hearing loss in a population study

Abstract

Background
A deeper knowledge of tinnitus is essential in order to better manage and treat tinnitus and its effects. Most studies to date are based on small samples and/or conducted in clinical settings. In this study we assessed the associations between tinnitus, general and mental health, hearing status and demographics in a large population cohort study.

Materials & Methods
The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study recruited people born between 1946 and 1964. Data were collected between 2010 and 2015.Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between tinnitus and its effect on daily life, age, gender, hearing, self-reported mental and general health, and doctor diagnosed health conditions.

Results
Of 5107 participants, 1154 (22.6%) reported experiencing tinnitus. Of those, 32.4% reported that their tinnitus had an occasional effect on their daily lives, whilst for a further 8.9% the effect on their daily life was frequent or constant. The odds ratio for having a SF12-PCS was (OR 1.02 (95%CI 1.01-1.03). Furthermore, individuals who experience their tinnitus as having an effect on their daily life, have an increased risk of having a lower general health (OR 1.04 (95%CI 1.02-1.03)) than those without tinnitus. Higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as doctor diagnosed depression, were all significant risk factors for tinnitus. There were statistically significant worse hearing thresholds related to the presence of tinnitus.

Conclusion
The outcomes raise the question for clinicians and researchers whether addressing the mental and general health of individuals will influence the presence or burden of tinnitus.

Source: https://research-repository.uwa.edu...ociations-with-general-health-mental-health-a

 

Hearing loss statistics and forecasts:

Hearing loss prevalence and years lived with disability, 1990-2019