The prevalence and characteristics of tinnitus in the youth population of the United States

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis To evaluate the prevalence, characteristics, and associated risk factors of tinnitus in U.S. adolescents. Study Design Cross‐sectional analyses of U.S. representative demographic and audiometric data, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005 to 2008. Methods The study population consisted of 3,520 individuals aged 12 to 19 years with complete tinnitus‐related data. Tinnitus was defined as the presence of ringing or buzzing in the ears lasting for at least 5 minutes during the preceding 12 months. In addition, we defined a chronic tinnitus subgroup as being bothered by tinnitus for more than 3 months. Demographic and other data regarding tinnitus, smoking, body mass index (BMI), anemia, hypertension, history of ear infections, tympanostomy tube placement, otoscopy, tympanometry and hearing thresholds, history of firearm use, and recreational and occupational exposure to noise were extracted and analyzed. Results Overall, tinnitus lasting 5 minutes or more in the preceding 12 months was reported by 7.5% of the 12‐ to 19‐year‐old population. This represents about 2.5 million adolescents in the United States. The prevalence of chronic tinnitus was 4.7%, corresponding to about 1.6 million adolescents in the United States. Multivariable‐adjusted analysis revealed that both overall and chronic tinnitus were associated with female gender, low income, exposure to passive smoking, type A tympanogram, and occupational and recreational noise exposure. History of ≥3 ear infections and history of tympanostomy tube placement were associated only with overall tinnitus. Conclusions Tinnitus afflicts a substantial portion of the youth population. Further investigation of the association between tinnitus and the identified risk factors is warranted. Level of Evidence N/A. Laryngoscope, 123:2001–2008, 2013

Tinnitus among Serbian secondary school students in relation to their behavior and habits

“…Of special public health concern are recently published two studies, mentioning the relation of smoking and SHS to tinnitus. [15,5] Investigations on this problem from different world regions are needed to re-evaluate the obtained results from previous studies. The aim of this first study of a kind in Serbia is to establish the prevalence of tinnitus among Serbian adolescents and the relationship between their behavior and habits and tinnitus.…”

“…[15] In a recent US study on subjects aged 12-19 years, a multivariable-adjusted analysis revealed that tinnitus was associated with passive smoking and female gender. [5] The association between use of various illicit drugs and hearing impairment or damage was described in several clinical and epidemiological studies. [16][17][18][19][20] Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, presumably of cochlear origin, may be a rare complication of incident drug abuse, [21,22] whereas chronic tinnitus is connected with the duration of inhalant and hallucinogen drug dependence.…”

“…[4] In a large cross-sectional study in the United States tinnitus was reported by 7.5% of 3520 individuals aged 12-19 years. [5] About 1-2% of the general population experience significant impairments in their quality-of-life due to tinnitus. [6] The National Study of Hearing in England showed that the prevalence of tinnitus among adults was 10.1% and in 0.5% of respondents tinnitus severely affected the ability to lead a normal life.…”

Prevalence and Determinants of Tinnitus in the Italian Adult Population

“…Comparisons between different surveys are difficult to make, due to the heterogeneity in terms of age range of the population studied and the lack of a standard and validated definition of tinnitus [17,21,36]. We decided to use the definition of tinnitus adopted in the NHANES study [35], which assessed the presence of tinnitus over the past 12 months and not only at the time of interview. This assessment tool may therefore have led to an overestimation of current tinnitus prevalence.…”

“…Besides general information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, we collected data on anthropometric characteristics, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking. The questionnaire also included 3 direct questions about tinnitus [35]. Participants were asked about the presence of tinnitus as follows: ‘in the past 12 months, have you been bothered by ringing or buzzing in your ears or head that lasted for 5 min or more?'…”