title: [Mental distress and quality of life in tinnitus patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tinnitus is a disease with a high prevalence that is often combined with psychiatric comorbidity. The aim of this study was to identify the dimensions of quality of life in which tinnitus patients are especially affected, and how these affections change during a therapy, including a hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  120 patients suffering from tinnitus were examined at 3 time points: at the beginning (t1) and the end (t2) of a 2-week hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and 4 weeks later (t3). The following questionnaires were adopted: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, and the quality of life instrument EORTC QLQ-C30.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the general population, tinnitus patients were impaired in all areas of quality of life. The greatest differences were found in the scales Social, Cognitive, Emotional and Role Functioning and in the field of financial difficulties with effect sizes of about 1.5. During the therapy, the scores improved, reaching roughly the middle between the initial patients' scores and the values of the general population. The directly assessed subjective improvement due to the therapy was only marginally correlated with the differences in the questionnaires.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since there was no control group without hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the results do not justify conclusions about the effectiveness of this therapy. However, the findings document multiple impairments of the patients (especially psycho-social disturbances) and show hints for supportive offers.
authors.affiliation: Helios-Klinikum Borna, Klinik für Innere Medizin, Borna, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hesse
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hinz
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009325:Nausea / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012803:Sick Role; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014839:Vomiting / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation