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Approximately 10% of adults in the UK experience tinnitus. In around 1 % of adults, tinnitus may affect quality of life. There are approximately 750,000 General Practitioner (GP) consultations for tinnitus each year. Access to reliable information, on-going support and reassurance are key elements in the management and treatment of tinnitus. The British Tinnitus Association (BTA) aims to play a key role in the delivery of these functions and we wish to support GPs in their vital role. A nine question survey was devised which asked basic questions about the respondent's experience of asking for help for tinnitus from their GP, and the services that the GP offered them. Tire BTA distributed a link to the survey, which was hosted on SurveyMonkey, to all BTA members for whom we had an email address via Mailchimp. This was sent to 1539 people. We received 928 completed questionnaires. * 53 per cent of respondents were unsatisfied with their GP's response, * 92 per cent of unsatisfied patients stated they felt their GP was 'dismissive or unsympathetic', or 'didn't have enough knowledge', * 706 of 928 respondents were referred to ENT or audiology. Of those, 88 per cent had to wait up to four months for an appointment. * In addition, 85 per cent were not offered any further support from their GP while they waited and just under half (48 per cent) said their tinnitus had a 'moderate' or 'severe impact' on their quality of life during this time. It is clear from our recent patient survey that people with tinnitus feel they are not getting the best possible help when first diagnosed with the condition. There is a knowledge gap within the medical community about the impact tinnitus can have and many patients don't feel listened to or supported enough. This is having an unnecessary impact on their quality of life and on the NHS as they make repeat visits to their GP. GP's would greatly benefit from increased training and knowledge about tinnitus and local services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine research priorities in hyperacusis that key stakeholders agree are the most important., Design/setting: A priority setting partnership using two international surveys, and a UK prioritisation workshop, adhering to the six-staged methodology outlined by the James Lind Alliance., Participants: People with lived experience of hyperacusis, parents/carers, family and friends, educational professionals and healthcare professionals who support and/or treat adults and children who experience hyperacusis, including but not limited to surgeons, audiologists, psychologists and hearing therapists., Methods: The priority setting partnership was conducted from August 2017 to July 2018. An international identification survey asked respondents to submit any questions/uncertainties about hyperacusis. Uncertainties were categorised, refined and rephrased into representative indicative questions using thematic analysis techniques. These questions were verified as 'unanswered' through searches of current evidence. A second international survey asked respondents to vote for their top 10 priority questions. A shortlist of questions that represented votes from all stakeholder groups was prioritised into a top 10 at the final prioritisation workshop (UK)., Results: In the identification survey, 312 respondents submitted 2730 uncertainties. Of those uncertainties, 593 were removed as out of scope, and the remaining were refined into 85 indicative questions. None of the indicative questions had already been answered in research. The second survey collected votes from 327 respondents, which resulted in a shortlist of 28 representative questions for the final workshop. Consensus was reached on the top 10 priorities for future research, including identifying causes and underlying mechanisms, effective management and training for healthcare professionals., Conclusions: These priorities were identified and shaped by people with lived experience, parents/carers and healthcare professionals, and as such are an essential resource for directing future research in hyperacusis. Researchers and funders should focus on addressing these priorities., Competing Interests: Competing interests: DJH is vice-chair of the British Society of Audiology. KF is a member of the British Society of Audiology Tinnitus and Hyperacusis special interest group. DMB is president of the British Tinnitus Association. NW is an employee of the British Tinnitus Association., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)