A questionnaire study of the quality of life and quality of family life of individuals complaining of tinnitus pre- and postattendance at a tinnitus clinic

Abstract

Tinnitus is a condition that is difficult to treat, and treatment outcomes are difficult to measure The majority of people who experience tinnitus are not troubled by it; however, the troubled minority are referred by an otorhinolaryngologist for specialist clinic help. The aim of this study was to investigate how the impact of tinnitus changes following attendance at a tinnitus clinic and to find out how acceptable the questionnaires used were for measuring recovery. Fifty-seven tinnitus sufferers completed three questionnaires covering the characteristics of tinnitus, and its effect on daily life, quality of life, and quality of family life, before and after treatment at the Nottingham Tinnitus Clinic. Questionnaires were answered at patients' homes while they were on the waiting list to attend the clinic, and again I year after their first attendance. Measures of functional and social handicap were significantly reduced following attendance at the clinic (mean change in functional handicap = 13%, p<0.01, and mean change in social handicap = 8%, p<0.01). Quality of life was significantly better after treatment at the clinic (mean visual analog scale difference = 6.5%, p = 0.01). We conclude that attendance at the Nottingham Tinnitus Clinic had a positive effect on the impact of tinnitus on patients and their families, and that the questionnaires gave an accurate measure of patient distress.

The impact of tinnitus on adult Nigerians: health related Quality of Life assessment of sufferers using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the RAND-36 item health survey 1.0 questionnaire

“…The finding in this study of low scores in all but the pain level of QoL domains especially that of social functioning is consistent with the findings of Nondahl et al 29 and El Refaie et al 41 . Statistically significant inverse correlation was recorded between emotional (anxiety and depression) scores and each of the QoL scores signifying that anxiety and depression suffered by patients with tinnitus has an enormous role in impairing their daily life functions.…”

Catastrophizing and Fear of Tinnitus Predict Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Tinnitus

“…Two general subscales can be calculated: physical and mental health. In this study, the mean of both scores has been used as a single measure for overall health (El Refaie et al 2004). …”

How do i know what i feel? Evidence for the role of self‐categorisation in symptom perceptions

“…Andersson, Baguley, McKenna, & McFerran, 2005;Davis & El Refaie, 2000). This means that tinnitus severity has to be measured by means of reports from experiencers (El Refaie et al, 2004;Hallam, 1996), with the advantage that a reliable and valid tinnitus symptom scale that yielded severity ratings, was readily available (McCombe et al, 2001). For these reasons, we chose tinnitus as the second illness category for this study.…”