title: Tinnitus Annoyance in Normal-Hearing Individuals: Correlation With Depression and Anxiety.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess and correlate tinnitus annoyance in normal-hearing patients with auditory brainstem response and with anxiety/depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 84 individuals with tinnitus and normal hearing levels (pure-tone thresholds ≤25 dB HL) was compared to a matched control group of 47 normal-hearing individuals without tinnitus. All participants underwent auditory brainstem response testing. Tinnitus annoyance was assessed using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and depression and anxiety using the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. We compared auditory brainstem response and anxiety/depression symptoms between groups. In the study group, we correlated the degree of tinnitus annoyance with normal/abnormal auditory brainstem response and presence/level of anxiety/depression symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All controls had normal auditory brainstem response; 30 patients with tinnitus had abnormal results. Thirty-five patients with tinnitus had depression and 41 anxiety, while only 2 controls had depression and none had anxiety, with a significant between-group difference (P < .001). Normal/abnormal auditory brainstem response showed no association with tinnitus annoyance, anxiety, or depression. A higher degree of tinnitus annoyance was associated with severity of depression and anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased tinnitus annoyance was positively correlated with greater severity of anxiety and depression in normal-hearing patients but was unrelated to normal/abnormal auditory brainstem response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, State Department of Health of the Federal District, Brasília, DF, Brazil helgak1@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Helga Moura
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kehrle
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: André Luiz Lopes
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, State Department of Health of the Federal District, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo Campos
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Granjeiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, State Department of Health of the Federal District, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Taciana Sarmento
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Augusto Costa Pires
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anxiety; auditory brainstem response; depression; tinnitus