Gender-Specific Risk Factors and Comorbidities of Bothersome Tinnitus

Basso, Laura; Boecking, Benjamin; Brüeggemann, Petra; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Canlon, Barbara; Cederroth, Christopher R.; Mazurek, Birgit

doi:10.3389/fnins.2020.00706

Cited by 32 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…As our result show that the answers of the daily questionnaires can predict the gender of TYT users, inversely, the daily answers can be indicators for the symptom differences of men and women. As we further found out that the worst symptom is an important feature, we are in line with other research works beyond the scope of mHealth data 13 , 58 – 60 . Furthermore, studies that have found gender-related differences in tinnitus patients without using mHealth solutions might particularly benefit from the use of mHealth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Predicting the gender of individuals with tinnitus based on daily life data of the TrackYourTinnitus mHealth platform

Allgaier

Schlee

Langguth

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Tinnitus is an auditory phantom perception in the absence of an external sound stimulation. People with tinnitus often report severe constraints in their daily life. Interestingly, indications exist on gender differences between women and men both in the symptom profile as well as in the response to specific tinnitus treatments. In this paper, data of the TrackYourTinnitus platform (TYT) were analyzed to investigate whether the gender of users can be predicted. In general, the TYT mobile Health crowdsensing platform was developed to demystify the daily and momentary variations of tinnitus symptoms over time. The goal of the presented investigation is a better understanding of gender-related differences in the symptom profiles of users from TYT. Based on two questionnaires of TYT, four machine learning based classifiers were trained and analyzed. With respect to the provided daily answers, the gender of TYT users can be predicted with an accuracy of 81.7%. In this context, worries, difficulties in concentration, and irritability towards the family are the three most important characteristics for predicting the gender. Note that in contrast to existing studies on TYT, daily answers to the worst symptom question were firstly investigated in more detail. It was found that results of this question significantly contribute to the prediction of the gender of TYT users. Overall, our findings indicate gender-related differences in tinnitus and tinnitus-related symptoms. Based on evidence that gender impacts the development of tinnitus, the gathered insights can be considered relevant and justify further investigations in this direction.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Predicting the gender of individuals with tinnitus based on daily life data of the TrackYourTinnitus mHealth platform

Allgaier

Schlee

Langguth

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…A study that examined gender-specific differences in comorbidities in individuals with tinnitus found higher rates of chronic shoulder pain and osteoarthritis in both sexes, as well as higher rate of fibromyalgia in women, for individuals with bothersome tinnitus compared to non-bothersome tinnitus [16]. We found the same tendency here-an association between chronic pain and tinnitus that was stronger when the tinnitus definition was restricted to individuals with more bothersome tinnitus.…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 77%

“…If the auditory and nociceptive systems are in fact connected, one might expect that tinnitus and chronic pain are associated irrespective of the severity and anatomic location of pain–that is, a more general association between the two phenomena. Still, as indicated by a study on chronic shoulder pain, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia among tinnitus patients, the degree of tinnitus bother may affect the strength of the association [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinnitus and associations with chronic pain: The population-based Tromsø Study (2015–2016)

et al. 2021

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Tinnitus and pain have many similarities. Both are subjective sensations that may turn chronic, they are often accompanied by hypersensitivity in their respective sensory system, and overlapping brain changes have been observed. Since no population study has examined the empirical association between chronic pain and tinnitus, the present study aimed to explore the relationship in a general adult population. We used data from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (2015–2016). Participants (aged ≥40) responded to questions about pain and tinnitus. Using multiple logistic regression, we analysed the adjusted relationship between chronic pain and tinnitus in the full sample (n = 19,039), using several tinnitus definitions ranging from tinnitus >5 minutes within the past 12 months (broadest definition) to at least weekly and highly bothersome tinnitus (strictest definition). We also analysed relationships between number of body regions with pain, pain intensity and bothering, and tinnitus >5 minutes, among participants with chronic pain (n = 11,589). We found an association between chronic pain and tinnitus that was present irrespective of tinnitus definition, but was stronger with more bothersome tinnitus. With chronic pain, the odds of tinnitus >5 minutes was 64% higher, while odds of at least weekly, highly bothersome tinnitus was 144% higher than without chronic pain. Among participants with chronic pain, the number of pain regions was the pain variable most strongly associated with tinnitus >5 minutes (OR = 1.17 (95% CI: 1.14–1.20) for an increase of one region), whereas the other pain variables (intensity and bothering) showed weaker associations. All chronic pain variables had significant interactions with age, with the strongest associations for the youngest individuals (40–54 years). Our findings support the existence of an association between chronic pain and tinnitus and emphasises the importance of examining for comorbid pain in tinnitus patients to provide a more comprehensive treatment of tinnitus.

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“…Overall, available evidence suggests that women tend to report higher HRQoL impairments in the context of psychological [38][39][40] or medical difficulties [41,42]. For chronic tinnitus, similar patterns emerged with women describing higher levels of emotional tension, psychological distress, and functional impairment [43][44][45][46], although these findings remain inconclusive [47,48]. To date, investigations on genderspecific differences in HRQoL for patients with chronic tinnitus are sparse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Health-Related Quality of Life, Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Somatization Symptoms in Male and Female Patients with Chronic Tinnitus

Boecking¹,

Biehl²,

Brüeggemann³

et al. 2021

JCM

Self Cite

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Objective: To investigate the joint impact of tinnitus-related distress (TRD), anxiety, depressive symptoms, and other somatization symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in female vs. male patients with chronic tinnitus. Method: Three-hundred-and-fifty-two patients with chronic tinnitus completed audiological testing and a psychological assessment battery that comprised—among other measures—German versions of the Tinnitus Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Somatic Symptom Scale-8, and Health-Related Quality of Life scale. Descriptive analyses examined associations as well as within- and between-gender differences of the measured variables. Gender-specific serial indirect effects analyses aimed to explain the impact of TRD on HRQoL through psychological processes, notably anxiety, depressive symptoms, and somatization symptoms. Results: Both female and male patients yielded lower mental than physical HRQoL and negative associations between the measured psychological variables and HRQoL. Compared to male patients, female patients reported higher levels of tinnitus-related- and wider psychological distress, other somatization symptoms (e.g., headaches), and impairments in mental and physical HRQoL. For each gender, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and somatization symptoms fully mediated the effect of TRD on mental and physical HRQoL. A double-dissociation revealed an interaction of somatization symptoms and depression on the TRD-HRQoL association in women, and of somatization symptoms and anxiety in men. Conclusions: In patients with chronic tinnitus, psychological constructs account for reported impairments in both mental and physical HRQoL. To improve patients’ HRQoL, treatment conceptualizations should consider gender-specific psychological expressions of low mood or anxiety.

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Gender-Specific Risk Factors and Comorbidities of Bothersome Tinnitus

Cited by 32 publications

References 51 publications

Predicting the gender of individuals with tinnitus based on daily life data of the TrackYourTinnitus mHealth platform

Predicting the gender of individuals with tinnitus based on daily life data of the TrackYourTinnitus mHealth platform

Tinnitus and associations with chronic pain: The population-based Tromsø Study (2015–2016)

Health-Related Quality of Life, Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Somatization Symptoms in Male and Female Patients with Chronic Tinnitus

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