The suffering of tinnitus in childhood and adolescence.
OBJECTIVE
Investigate the profile of young patients complaining of tinnitus and study the prevalence and the severity of tinnitus in schoolchildren.


METHODS
Ninety-five consecutive patients (55 boys), 8-20 years old, seeking help for tinnitus at our clinic were studied using audiometry, structural interviews, Tinnitus Severity Questionnaire (TSQ) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), together with Visual Analog Scales (VAS) on tinnitus loudness and annoyance.


RESULTS
The onset of tinnitus was twice as often sudden than gradual. In 54% of the children, tinnitus had started after noise exposure, most commonly listening to music. Correlations were found between the pure-tone average (PTA) of 3, 4, and 6 kHz and TSQ scores; between TSQ and HAD subscales; and between TSQ and VAS. According to the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, 32% and 14.5%, respectively, were above the cut level for clinical anxiety and depressive disorders. The girls showed more signs of anxiety disorders than the boys.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the help seekers had been exposed to noise, mostly music. Predisposing factors for tinnitus severity are high-frequency hearing loss and anxiety and depressive disorders.
Holgers
Kajsa-Mia
KM
Department of Audiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. kajsa-mia.holgers@vgregion.se
Juul
Jolanta
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006316:Hearing Loss, High-Frequency / Q000150:complications; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology