title: Factors predicting severity of tinnitus: a population-based assessment.
abstract: The Blue Mountains Hearing Study (BMHS) has shown that tinnitus affects one in three older Australians with 16% of cases describing severe annoyance. Among persons describing severe symptoms, 52% have sought professional help. We aim to identify factors associated with the severity of tinnitus in 2,015 persons aged over 54 years. Comprehensive questionnaires about hearing were administered. Air- (250-8000 Hz) and bone-conduction (500-4000 Hz) audiometric thresholds of both ears, together with transient evoked and spontaneous otoacoustic emissions, were measured. Factors predicting severity of tinnitus were assessed in Cox proportional hazard models. After multivariate adjustment, factors significantly associated with severe tinnitus were hearing loss (relative risk [RR] 2.9), dizziness (RR 2.0), head injury (RR 2.0), sinus and middle ear infections (RR 1.9), and mastoiditis (RR 3.9). Associations with mild tinnitus included age (RR 0.8), hearing loss (RR 1.4) and history of dizziness (RR 1.5), meningitis (RR 2.2), and migraine (RR 1.5). Knowledge of these factors could contribute to improved tinnitus management.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Services Research, Western Sydney Area Health Service, Australia.
authors.forename: Doungkamol
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sindhusake
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Golding
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wigney
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Newall
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D004244:Dizziness / Q000453:epidemiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008417:Mastoiditis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008581:Meningitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology