title: The influence of psychological factors on tinnitus severity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Subjective tinnitus is a frequent symptom characterized by perception of sound in the absence of a corresponding external stimulus. Although many people learn to live with tinnitus, some find it severely debilitating. Why tinnitus is debilitating in some patients, but not in others, is still incompletely understood. We aimed to assess the influence of different aspects of psychological distress on perceived tinnitus severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred seventeen patients diagnosed with chronic subjective tinnitus at two university clinics completed the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) and the Symptom Check List-90-Revised. The influence of the different dimensions of psychological distress on perceived tinnitus severity was statistically evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both THI and TQ scores were significantly influenced by gender, site and the dimension "depression". In addition, TQ scores were significantly influenced by age and "somatization," whereas "hostility" had an impact on THI scores only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychological aspects as well as sociodemographic variables had a significant influence on both TQ scores. However, our results indicate, that these scales reflect emotional distress of tinnitus sufferers differently. This should be taken into consideration in the use of these scales as screening tools for assessment of tinnitus handicap.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Ke Karlovu 11, Praha 2, 120 00, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Milerová
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dvořák
authors.forename: Philipp G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Königer
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Langguth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult