Why Are Older People More Likely to Have Severe Tinnitus Than Young Folks?

[Ava Lugo]

I noticed more older people in their 40s and 50s get severe intrusive tinnitus while younger folks in their 20s like me have super mild barely audible tinnitus or no tinnitus.

The young folks talk about how they have to spend a few minutes in a super quiet room plugging their years really having to look to hear their tinnitus but yet the older people talk about hearing it over everything and while there are some that are older and are blessed with maskable mild tinnitus and no reactive or severe tinnitus.

It seems that quiet maskable tinnitus or no tinnitus is more common with people my age but I have disabling debilitating reactive tinnitus and I'm aware of mine all the time no matter what I do to distract myself. I guess I have brain damage compared to my young peers. My brain doesn't work as well as my peers do since I don't have no tinnitus or mild tinnitus like I used to, I got severe tinnitus. Nerve damage must have happened to me somehow so I can't listen to music now.

Young people can have severe tinnitus too but it seems extremely rare.

The young folks on here, most of them have quiet maskable tinnitus. I only seen a few who had it close to what I have. I wouldn't be on this forum at all if it was maskable.

Any theories why older people are more likely to develop severe tinnitus than young folks?

 

[Michael B]

The US government did a study on this very question. Below is a link.

My guess is that there are many factors as we age, including hearing loss. I personally have notched hearing loss at 6 kHz. Coincidentally (or not) my tinnitus is 6 kHz. I'm quite aware of my tinnitus.

Characterization of Tinnitus in Different Age Groups: A Retrospective Review.

 

[xyz]

Someone in their 50s has had 30 years more time to damage their ears than someone in their 20s. That's probably the main reason, I guess.

 

[GBB]

I noticed more older people in their 40s and 50s get severe intrusive tinnitus while younger folks in their 20s like me have super mild barely audible tinnitus or no tinnitus.

The young folks talk about how they have to spend a few minutes in a super quiet room plugging their years really having to look to hear their tinnitus but yet the older people talk about hearing it over everything and while there are some that are older and are blessed with maskable mild tinnitus and no reactive or severe tinnitus.

It seems that quiet maskable tinnitus or no tinnitus is more common with people my age but I have disabling debilitating reactive tinnitus and I'm aware of mine all the time no matter what I do to distract myself. I guess I have brain damage compared to my young peers. My brain doesn't work as well as my peers do since I don't have no tinnitus or mild tinnitus like I used to, I got severe tinnitus. Nerve damage must have happened to me somehow so I can't listen to music now.

Young people can have severe tinnitus too but it seems extremely rare.

The young folks on here, most of them have quiet maskable tinnitus. I only seen a few who had it close to what I have. I wouldn't be on this forum at all if it was maskable.

Any theories why older people are more likely to develop severe tinnitus than young folks?

I am in my 20s and would categorize my tinnitus as moderate to severe, depending on the day.

I think it just has to do with hearing loss - I tend to doubt, admittedly in the absence of data, that an older person with identical hearing loss to a younger person would have more severe tinnitus, simply due to other age-related factors. I suppose it is possible, but I haven't seen anything to back this up.

 

[Bartoli]

Because life.

 

[Michael B]

A study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded:

"Chronic tinnitus found in older adults was subjectively louder, more annoying and more distressing than that found in younger patients.

Of the 470 patients evaluated, 85 were less than 40, 217 between 40 and 60, and 168 above 60 years of age. Most patients above the age of 40 years complained of loud and annoying tinnitus and had worse stress and severity scores."

 

[Kriszti]

A study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded:

"Chronic tinnitus found in older adults was subjectively louder, more annoying and more distressing than that found in younger patients.

Of the 470 patients evaluated, 85 were less than 40, 217 between 40 and 60, and 168 above 60 years of age. Most patients above the age of 40 years complained of loud and annoying tinnitus and had worse stress and severity scores."

In this study, was the time of tinnitus onset considered? I mean, did tinnitus found in older adults start out worse than in younger ones or did it progress to be more severe?