Quality of life in individuals with tinnitus with and without hearing loss

Abstract

Purpose: to evaluate the perception of the level of quality of life in subjects with tinnitus, with and without hearing loss. Methods: a cross-sectional quantitative study. A total of 189 subjects (mean age 53.06 years) divided into four groups. Group 1: subjects with normal auditory thresholds without tinnitus complaint; Group 2: subjects with normal auditory thresholds and tinnitus complaint; Group 3: subjects with sensorineural hearing loss without tinnitus complaint; Group 4: subjects with sensorineural hearing loss and with tinnitus complaint. Levels of quality of life were investigated through the World Health Organization Quality Of Life (WHOQOL) website -brief and psycho-emotional and functional aspects of patients with tinnitus through the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). Statistical analyzes, comparisons among groups and descriptive analysis were performed, considering a significance level of 5%. Results: the overall mean scores of quality of life in group 4 (56.07) were smaller than those of group 1 (64.67) (p<0.05). The subjects with tinnitus complaint presented a moderate level of disturbance of the symptom. Conclusion: tinnitus interferes in the quality of life of individuals who had preserved or altered auditory thresholds. Therefore, means to reduce the discomfort caused by tinnitus symptom should be developed, in order to improve patients' quality of life.

Speech Perception in Ménière Disease

“…Sample Group and CG individuals had similar scores, which agrees with the literature. 25 The mean value obtained from summing the questionnaire scores indicated mild or nonexistent disadvantage in both groups (degree 1).…”

Social distance due to the Covid-19 pandemic: impacts on the perception of chronic tinnitus, anxiety, depression and relations

“…This fact becomes important, given that in addition to the direct impact of these psychological aspects on the well-being of individuals, they can also be aggravating or triggering factors for numerous symptoms, one of which is chronic tinnitus (7) . Tinnitus is a subjective symptom described in the literature as the perception of a "phantom" sound, which has negative consequences on the quality of life of individuals (8,9) . Among the triggering factors associated with the symptom, the emotional aspects have been investigated, with greater recurrence of anxiety and depression being evidenced in subjects who suffer from tinnitus than in the general population (10) .…”

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