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Aim: Aging is related to deterioration of bodily and neural functions, leading to various disorders and symptoms, including the development of dementia, hearing loss, or tinnitus. Understanding how these phenomena are intertwined and how aging affects those is crucial for prevention and the future development of interventions., Methods: We utilized the UK Biobank which includes a total of 502,382 participants between 40 and 70 years old. We used logistic regression models and cox proportional hazard models and compared hazard ratios., Results: The odds of reporting tinnitus in the older age group (i.e., older than 58 years) were increased by 53.6 % and a one decibel increase in the speech-reception thresholds enhanced the odds for tinnitus by 13.0 %. For our second analysis regarding hearing loss, the risk of dementia increased by 14.0 % with an increase by one decibel in the speech-reception threshold score. In terms of aging, each additional year increased the risk by 17.3 %. Tinnitus alone showed a significant influence with a hazard ratio of 52.1 %, however, when adding hearing loss, age and various covariates, the effect vanished., Conclusion: Findings confirm that tinnitus is indeed related to aging, but presumably independent of the aging processes accompanying the development of dementia. This highlights the urge to further investigate the impact of aging on neural processes that are relevant for alterations in the auditory systems (e.g., leading to the development of tinnitus or hearing loss) as well as for increased vulnerability in terms of neurodegenerative diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external stimulus. Recently, inflammation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of tinnitus. In tinnitus animal models, cytokine levels are increased throughout the whole auditory pathway, and microglia and astrocytes are activated. However, only a few human studies on inflammation in tinnitus were conducted, which generally did not account for confounders such as hearing loss, anxiety and depression. The current study therefore aimed to evaluate the association between inflammation and tinnitus specifically in participants with (near-)normal hearing and without signs of anxiety or depression. In this cross-sectional study, fifty tinnitus participants and fifty healthy controls completed a tinnitus questionnaire and underwent audiometric testing. Complete blood count measures were determined in blood plasma, as well as cytokine concentrations by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Platelet count and cytokine concentrations of IL-10 and IFN-γ were lower in participants with tinnitus compared to controls, and male sex, lower MCV, lower platelet count, and lower IL-10 and IFN-γ concentrations were significant predictors of tinnitus presence. The current study shows that inflammatory parameters are altered in tinnitus patients after exclusion of important confounders such as hearing loss, anxiety, depression, and inflammatory diseases., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the frequency of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety and health anxiety in tinnitus patients during the pandemic and also, determined the psychophysiological impact of COVID-19 on tinnitus., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary central pandemic hospital from 15 July 2021 to 15 December 2022. In total, 124 patients with tinnitus and 77 healthy controls participated in the study. The sociodemographic data, a set of valid and reliable assessment instruments were used to measure outcomes of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety and severity of tinnitus., Results: Patients with tinnitus were found to experience higher levels of coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety and anxiety disorder than controls (p < 0.05). In tinnitus patients, the frequency of coronavirus anxiety was 22.6% and anxiety disorder was 18.5%. Notably, the levels of tinnitus severity were moderate to severe in more than half of the patients (51.6%) and also most of them (81.3%) reported that the severity of tinnitus during the pandemic was higher compared with the pre-pandemic., Conclusion: Tinnitus patients had high levels of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety and health anxiety. In line with these findings, it was evaluated that there was a relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic with psychological problems and tinnitus. Therefore, the predominance of tinnitus symptoms at presentation should not lead the clinician to neglect the underlying psychopathological problems in these patients., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical Otolaryngology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Tinnitus in children and adolescents is relatively unexplored territory. The available literature is limited and the reported prevalence of tinnitus suffering varies widely due to the absence of a definition for pediatric tinnitus. The impact on daily life seems to be lower than in the adult population. It is unclear if children who suffer from tinnitus, like adults, also experience psychological distress like anxiety or depressive symptoms. A better understanding of tinnitus in children and its impact on daily life could provide more insight into the actual size of the problem and could give direction for future studies to investigate the cause of progression of tinnitus., Design: A cross-sectional study was performed using the Dutch Lifelines population-based cohort of people living in the north of the Netherlands. A total of 4964 children (4 to 12 years of age) and 2506 adolescents (13 to 17 years of age) were included. The presence of tinnitus suffering and behavioral outcomes were assessed with a single-item question and the Child Behavioral Checklist or the Youth Self Report questionnaire respectively. The associations of behavioral outcomes and tinnitus suffering were analyzed using univariate binary regressions., Results: The prevalence of tinnitus suffering in children was 3.3 and 12.8% in adolescents. Additionally, 0.3% of the children and 1.9% of the adolescents suffered a lot or extremely of their tinnitus. Externalizing and internalizing problems were associated with tinnitus in adolescents. Internalizing problems were associated with tinnitus in children., Conclusions: The prevalence of tinnitus suffering in this sample of the general population is comparable to other population-based studies. A low percentage of children (0.3%) or adolescents (1.9%) suffered a lot or extremely of their tinnitus. Tinnitus suffering is associated with all behavioral outcome subscales in adolescents and with internalizing problems in children, although the effect sizes were very small. Future research should focus on achieving a consensus for the definition of pediatric tinnitus and on the development of a validated outcome measure., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Ear & Hearing is published on behalf of the American Auditory Society, by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Introduction: Tinnitus is a common ailment that affects 10%-15% of adults worldwide. Comorbidities associated with tinnitus often include hearing loss, emotional distress and sleep disorders, with insomnia being a common issue among patients with tinnitus. Audiological and psychological approaches are typically used to treat chronic subjective tinnitus, with the combination of sound therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy-based counselling having the strongest evidence for effectiveness. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has also shown promising effects in reducing the impact of tinnitus when delivered in groups or online. However, there is a lack of evidence on the effects of combining ACT with sound therapy for patients with tinnitus-related insomnia. Therefore, this study aims to compare the efficacy of internet-delivered ACT combined with sound therapy versus sound therapy alone for tinnitus in a superiority, two-arm randomised controlled trial., Methods and Analysis: A total of 164 patients with chronic subjective tinnitus and insomnia will be randomised to receive internet-delivered guided self-help tinnitus treatment based on ACT combined with tailored sound therapy or tailored sound therapy alone. The primary outcome is the variation in Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores observed 2 months after randomisation between the two study groups. Secondary outcomes will include insomnia severity, sleep parameters, tinnitus loudness, tinnitus acceptance, depression and anxiety. The outcomes will be assessed at 2, 3 and 6 months post randomisation., Ethics and Dissemination: The study is approved by the review board and ethics committee of the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University (approval number: 2023066-1). The findings will be disseminated through presentations at relevant conferences and peer-reviewed publications., Trial Registration Number: NCT05963542., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Somatosensory tinnitus (ST) is associated with activation of the auditory pathway by trigeminal or cervical afferents., Objective: This is a cross-sectional observational study that aims to verify the association of ST with TMD, bruxism, migraine and psychosocial aspects., Methods: This study was conducted at the Tinnitus Outpatient Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Complex of the Federal University of Paraná. Specific ST characteristics, were evaluated according to the last consensus for the diagnosis of ST. Two groups with 39 individuals each one were formed, the ST group (STG) and the comparison group (CG). TMD was classified according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders and migraine by the International Classification of Headaches. The presence of probable sleep and awake bruxism was associated with individual's reports and clinical inspections. The applied questionnaires investigated oral behaviours (OB), sleep quality (SQ), psychosocial aspects (PA), central sensitization (CS), tinnitus impact on quality of life (TIQF), and graded chronic pain scale (GCPS)., Results: The STG showed a significant association with modulation manoeuvres and trigger points; myalgias and arthralgia; disc displacement with and without reduction; subluxation; bruxism; and presence of migraine. For the same group, we found a significant association with OB, PA, CS, TIQF and GCPS. There was no significant difference between groups regarding SQ., Conclusion: There is a significant association between the presence of ST and the occurrence of TMD, probable sleep and awake bruxism, and migraine. There is also a greater impairment of OB, PA, CS and TIQF., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Tinnitus is a phantom sound sensation without an external sound source. Due to its subjective and multifaceted nature it is measured using multi-item self-reported instruments. Many well-validated tinnitus-related questionnaires are available for clinical practice and scientific research, but so far no attention has been paid to their measurement invariance. The study aimed to examine measurement invariance of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory with regard to gender and hearing impairment, and to identify the items that show differential item functioning (DIF) across the groups., Design: This is a retrospective study using medical data from patients with tinnitus. They completed the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and underwent pure-tone audiometry., Study Sample: 1106 adult patients with tinnitus (554 women and 552 men; 320 with normal hearing and 786 with hearing loss), aged 19-84 years., Results: In the analysis, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, hybrid ordinal logistic regression, Kernel smoothing in Item Response Theory, and lasso regression were applied. Measurement invariance was demonstrated across gender, but across hearing status the measurement was non-invariant. Five items were found to have DIF., Conclusions: Researchers and clinicians should be aware of the potential risk of response bias when tinnitus severity is evaluated.

Objective: To explore the related factors of anxiety and anxiety tendency in patients with tinnitus. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Basic information, tinnitus characteristics, and psychological status of patients who complained of tinnitus in the Outpatient Department of Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University between January 2020 and December 2023 were collected. All patients filled out the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and underwent pure tone audiometry testing. According to the SAS scores, patients were divided into three groups: non-anxiety group (SAS<40), anxiety tendency group (40≤SAS<50), and anxiety group (SAS≥50). The related factors of anxiety and anxiety tendency were analyzed using multivariate ordered logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 176 patients (57 males and 119 females) aged (49.4±10.7) years (range: 13-76 years)were included, with the onset time of 3 days-37 years. There were 78 cases (44.3%), 65 cases (36.9%) and 33 cases (18.8%) in the non-anxiety group, the anxiety tendency group and the anxiety group, respectively. The duration of disease in the anxiety group [(43.4±15.1) months] was significantly longer than that in the anxiety tendency group [(27.2±5.3) months] and the non-anxiety group [(19.6±3.5) months], with statistically significant differences (both P <0.05). The proportion of female patients in the anxiety group [81.8% (27/33)] and anxiety tendency group [75.4% (47/65)] was significantly higher than that in the non-anxiety group [57.7% (45/78)], and the differences were statistically significant (both P <0.05). The proportion of patients with emotional disorders [12.1% (4/33) vs 2.6% (2/78)], stress [15.1% (5/33) vs 3.9% (3/78)], and sleep disorders [48.5% (16/33) vs 23.1% (18/78)] in the anxiety group was significantly higher than that in the non-anxiety group (all P <0.05). The proportion of patients only had sleep disorders in the anxiety tendency group [38.5% (25/65) vs 23.1% (18/78)] was higher than that in the non-anxiety group, with a statistically significant difference ( P <0.05). The results of multivariate ordered logistic regression analysis showed that sleep disorders werethe most significant factor affecting anxiety and anxiety tendency in tinnitus patients ( OR =2.667, 95% CI : 1.451-4.909, P =0.002). Conclusion: A significant proportion of tinnitus patients exhibit anxiety and anxiety tendency, and sleep disorders play a major role in the development of anxiety and anxiety tendencies in tinnitus patients.

The effects of tinnitus on human health are receiving increasing attention, and it is currently believed that the central compensatory response caused by peripheral hearing loss is the main pathogenesis of chronic tinnitus. Tinnitus, psychological problems and sleep disorders affect and worsen each other, and should be taken seriously in treatment strategies. Chronic tinnitus treatment strategy advocates comprehensive treatment based on sound therapy, including reducing tinnitus sound perception and improving patients' negative mood and poor sleep. Whether treating tinnitus alone or treating relevant psychological problems and sleep disorders can break the vicious circle of tinnitus, psychological problems and sleep disorders. Therefore, balancing both psychological and sleep problems, is the direction of tinnitus treatment and research. The clinical study of the treatment of tinnitus should shift from the previous single tinnitus treatment mode and a single tinnitus evaluation index to the comprehensive treatment and comprehensive evaluation indicators that balance both psychotherapy and sleep improvement.

Objective: To investigate the impact of migraine on the tinnitus-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychiatric comorbidities in patients with tinnitus., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 227 consecutive patients with tinnitus as their primary complaint. Patients who were diagnosed as having comorbid migraine were asked whether their tinnitus exacerbated during attacks of migraine. All the patients completed three questionnaires: the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) or its counterpart for the Elderly (HHIE), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)., Results: Among the 227 tinnitus patients, 60 (26.4%) had comorbid migraine. There were no significant differences in the THI or HHIA/HHIE scores between patients with migraine and those without migraine (both p > 0.05). The HADS score was significantly higher in patients with migraine than those without migraine (p < 0.05).Out of the 60 tinnitus patients with comorbid migraine, 27 (45.0%) experienced exacerbation of tinnitus during migraine attacks. Patients whose tinnitus exacerbated during migraine attacks had significantly higher scores in THI, HHIA/HHIE, and HADS compared to those whose tinnitus did not change during migraine attacks (p < 0.05 for THI and HADS, p < 0.01 for HHIA/HHIE)., Conclusion: The presence of migraine did not affect the tinnitus-specific HRQOL in tinnitus patients but had significant impacts on their psychiatric comorbidities. However, in patients who experienced exacerbation of tinnitus during migraine attacks, the presence of migraine had a significant impact on the tinnitus-specific HRQOL, hearing handicap, and psychiatric comorbidities., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024, Otology & Neurotology, Inc.)

Importance: Clinical guidelines recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment for tinnitus. However, patient response to CBT is variable, and currently, there are no known predictors of response to CBT treatment for tinnitus., Objective: To identify the clinical predictors of patient response to CBT for treatment of tinnitus., Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a secondary cohort analysis of a single-arm clinical study including adults with chronic bothersome tinnitus recruited from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis (Missouri) from September 2019 to February 2023. Participants completed an 8-week group CBT program with a licensed clinical psychologist. Each week consisted of 2.5 hours of CBT, amounting to 20 hours of total CBT participation, primarily delivered through a virtual platform. Conjunctive consolidation was used to create a predictive classification system for response to CBT based on tinnitus bother and anxiety levels., Main Outcome and Measure: Response to CBT was predefined as a 13-point or greater decrease in the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) survey score., Results: The study sample included 88 adult patients (median [IQR] age, 59 [49-66] years; 47 [53%] females and 41 [47%] males) with chronic bothersome tinnitus, of whom 53 (60%) had at least 13-point decrease in TFI and were considered to be responders. In univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses, high to moderate anxiety level and severe tinnitus bother were associated with treatment response (adjusted odds ratio: anxiety, 3.33; 95% CI, 0.90-12.30; tinnitus bother, 12.08; 95% CI, 1.48-98.35). The clinical stratification system showed good predictive and discriminative ability (χ2 for linear trend = 20.0; C statistic = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.65-0.85)., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study show that assessment of bother and anxiety levels in patients with tinnitus may be useful for identifying those who are more likely to respond to CBT. Before incorporation into clinical practice, future research should externally validate this finding in a separate population.

Tinnitus and misophonia are important "sound annoyance" disorders in pediatric otolaryngology and audiology practices. There is scant published literature to suggest increased anxiety and depression symptoms in these disorders. This study aimed at assessing the clinical characteristics of these 2 disorders and their prevalence in mental health-related symptoms in a 2-year retrospective chart review of a multi-disciplinary (otolaryngology, audiology, and psychology) clinic cohort. Analyses were based on 54 (tinnitus = 33 and misophonia = 21) children consisting of 19 males and 35 females with a mean age (standard deviation) of 14.3 (3.0) years. The entire cohort was negatively affected by diagnosis-based symptom severity instruments as assessed by Tinnitus Functional Index and Amsterdam Misophonia Scale. Both subgroups exhibited elevated anxiety and depression symptoms in psychometric instruments as assessed by Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. Evidence-based management of these disorders is lacking, and clinical trials are needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: Tinnitus is a condition that causes people to hear sounds without an external source. One significant issue arising from this condition is the difficulty in communicating, especially in the presence of noisy backgrounds. The process of understanding speech in challenging situations requires both cognitive and auditory abilities. Since tinnitus presents unique challenges, it is important to investigate how it affects speech perception in noise., Method: In this review, 32 articles were investigated to determine the effect of tinnitus on the effect of speech in noise perception performance. Based on the meta-analysis performed using a random-effects model, meta-regression was used to explore the moderating effects of age and hearing acuity., Results: A total of 32 studies were reviewed, and the results of the meta-analysis revealed that tinnitus significantly impacts speech in terms of noise perception performance. Additionally, the regression analysis revealed that age and hearing acuity are not significant predictors of speech in noise perception., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that tinnitus affects speech perception in noisy environments due to cognitive impairments and central auditory processing deficits. Hearing loss and aging also contribute to reduced speech in noise performance. Interventions and further research are necessary to address individual challenges associated with continuous subjective tinnitus., Competing Interests: Declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To establish the interrelationships between temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), pain, and otologic and psychologic comorbidities in Asian youths., Materials and Methods: Youths from a local polytechnic, aged 17 to 24 years old, were enrolled and an electronic survey encompassing demographic variables-the DC/TMD TMD pain screener (TPS), Short- form Fonseca Anamnestic Index (SFAI), modified Maciel's Otologic/Pain Symptom Inventory, and Patient Health Questionnaire-4-was administered. Par.cipants were subsequently categorized into groups: no TMD pain (NP), with TMD pain (WP), no TMDs (NT), and with any TMDs (WT). Data were evaluated with chi-square test, nonparametric, and logistic regression analyses (α &#61; .05)., Results: Among the 198 participants (mean age 18.8 ± 1.7 years), 11.1% had painful TMDs and 18.2% experienced TMD pain or dysfunction. Significant differences in total-otologic symptoms (total-OS), vertigo, and dizziness plus otalgia, tinnitus, and hearing loss scores were observed between the WP-NP and WT-NT groups correspondingly. While total-comorbid pain (total-CP) and psychologic distress (total-PD) scores varied substanally between the WT-NT group, only a significant difference in total-PD scores was discerned between the WP-NP group. Total-OS scores were moderately correlated to TPS/SFAI, total-CP, and total-PD scores, and psychologic distress was a risk factor for painful TMDs., Conclusions: Otologic and pain comorbidities were prevalent among Asian youths with TMDs and appear to be interrelated. The complex interaction of TMDs with pain, otologic, and psychologic comorbidities must be considered when caring for youths with multiple somatic complaints.

Background and Objectives : We hypothesized that an individual's personality traits would have an impact on the distress of subjective tinnitus. To investigate this, 32 participants were recruited; we followed up with this cohort. This study is a cross-sectional analysis of a part of this cohort, identifying how their personality traits make a difference in the severity of tinnitus distress. Materials and Methods : Thirty-two participants completed a personality test based on the Big Five theory, consisting of 160 items. Additionally, the severity of tinnitus was assessed using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and the accompanying level of depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Audiometry tests, including pure-tone audiometry, were also conducted. Participants were categorized into the 'mild group' if their total THI score was 36 or below, and into the 'severe group' if their score was 38 or above. Results : In the traditional five domains of the Big Five Inventory (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism), only the 'Neuroticism' domain showed a difference between the two groups (25.1 ± 21.0 in the mild group and 43.1 ± 18.2 in the severe group, p = 0.014). Among ego-related factors, the 'Helplessness' domain (26.3 ± 22.9 in the mild group and 62.3 ± 27.9 in the severe group, p < 0.001) and the communication-related factor of 'Listening' (58.7 ± 18.8 in the mild group and 37.8 ± 27.9 in the severe group, p = 0.020) showed differences between the two groups. In the multivariate analysis, 'Helplessness' (estimate 0.419, 95% confidence interval 0.249-0.589, p < 0.001), 'Emotional Trauma' (0.213, 0.020-0.406, p = 0.032), and 'Pure-tone threshold at 2000 Hz' (0.944, 0.477-1.411, p < 0.001) were identified as factors influencing the severity of tinnitus distress. Conclusions : Ego-related factors, particularly Helplessness and Emotional Trauma, can influence tinnitus distress and should be considered in the management of tinnitus.

Objective: This study aims to design a Concise and Practical Chinese Tinnitus Disorder Scale (CPCTDS), evaluate its psychometric measurement characteristics, and help doctors in making diagnoses and treatments., Methods: A sample of 482 tinnitus patients completed CPCTDS. The patients also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI)., Results: The eight items of CPCTDS were extracted through its exploratory factor analysis, which had strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.855). The correlations between the total scores of CPCTDS and Tinnitus Disability Inventory (TDI; r = 0.960, P < 0.05) and TFI (r = 0.749, P < 0.05) indicated a good criterion validity. The correlation of the CPCTDS emotional subscale with the TFI emotional subscale (r = 0.650, P < 0.05), CES-D (r = 0.488, P < 0.05), and BAI (r =.384, p< 0.05) showed that the convergent validity of CPCTDS was satisfactory., Conclusions: CPCTDS and the original Chinese version of TDI were highly reliable and valid. This finding shows that the two scales can be reliably used to assess the severity of tinnitus in clinical areas., (Copyright © 2024 Noise & Health.)

Background: Tinnitus is a quite common and bothersome disorder that results in a perceived sound or noise, without an external origin, often causing notable psychological distress. Some interconnections between tinnitus, bodily pain perception, and psychological well-being were previously reported, thus the relationships between tinnitus and temporomandibular joint (TMJ)-related muscle issues, resulting in somatosensory tinnitus, must be deeply investigated. This study aims to assess the prevalence of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and to examine the correlation between tinnitus and scales assessing the severity of TMD as well as psychological-related parameters., Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 37 adults with TMD symptoms were enrolled. Diagnostic data were collected using the Axis II of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire. Statistical analysis included descriptive assessments and significance was set at p < .05., Results: Individuals with tinnitus and TMD reported a significantly higher number of body pain areas, indicating a link between tinnitus and increased bodily pain perception. Tinnitus did not significantly impact TMJ-related functions. Significantly higher levels of psychological distress were observed in individuals with tinnitus, as evidenced by elevated scores in depression, generalised anxiety and somatic symptoms., Conclusion: Tinnitus is a complex condition with significant effects on health and well-being, requiring an interdisciplinary approach for effective evaluation and care. The study provides deep insights into the prevalence of tinnitus in TMD patients, underscoring the need for comprehensive treatment strategies addressing both TMD and tinnitus., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Binaural beat stimulation (BBS) involve presenting two sinusoidal waves with specific frequency differences to induce neural changes in the brain, often used for mental state induction and symptom reduction. However, there are limited studies on its effectiveness for tinnitus. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of combining binaural beats with music containing nature sounds for chronic tinnitus., Methods: A total of 30 men, aged 45.87 on average (SD = 8.09), who had chronic tinnitus and symmetrical mild to moderate hearing loss, were included in this study. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups: MT group (Music therapy; n = 15), which received relaxing music containing the sound of sea waves, and MT + BBS group (Music therapy plus binaural beats; n = 15), which received the same music combined with alpha frequency (8 Hz) binaural beats. The therapy sessions were conducted twice a day for 15 min, over a period of 4 weeks. Outcome measures, including the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the pitch and loudness of tinnitus were administered before, immediately after, and during the three-month follow-up period., Results: The findings revealed improvements in loudness and annoyance VAS, as well as THI total and all subscale scores in both groups (p < 0.001). Additionally, TFI total score showed improvement in both groups (MT: p = 0.001; MT + BBS: p < 0.001) except for the sense of control subscale in both groups and the cognitive subscale in the MT group after the treatment and during the three-month follow-up period. Furthermore, both groups exhibited a decrease in scores for both subscales of HADS. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the measurement outcomes (p > 0.05), except for the emotional subscale scores of TFI (p = 0.049) and the functional subscale scores of THI (p = 0.034). In other words, during the follow-up period, the MT + BBS group exhibited lower scores in these two subscales compared to the MT group., Conclusion: Although our study failed to demonstrate the superiority of combining binaural beats with music, both groups experienced significant improvements. This suggest that there are potential benefits to be gained from these types of stimuli. Given the sustained effect of both methods and the even greater improvements in follow-up observed in the binaural beats group for some scales, it seems that the changes in neural response and brain waves caused by our stimulations are persistent. This necessitates further research involving brain mapping, especially with longer follow-up durations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter of materials discussed in the manuscript., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Self-report instruments are commonly used in tinnitus clinics, but they are presently available only for adults. There is a lack of a validated multi-item instrument to capture tinnitus-related problems in children and their impact on everyday life. This study has developed and validated a specifically child-centered questionnaire to assess the impact of tinnitus., Methods: Development of the tool consisted of several stages. Following a pilot study on 12 children with tinnitus, a validation study was done on a further 192 children with tinnitus aged between 11 and 14 years. The children had an audiological examination, completed a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the newly framed questionnaire., Results: The development and validation process resulted in the new 11-item Children's Tinnitus Questionnaire (CTQ). It includes items concerning the impact of tinnitus on functional, cognitive, emotional and social domains. The validity of the new tool has been established by finding significant correlations between it and VAS loudness (r = 0.42), VAS annoyance (r = 0.67), and VAS coping (r = -0.41). Validity has also been confirmed by measuring differences in CTQ scores and 4 groups of children having graded incidences of tinnitus. The internal consistency assessed with Cronbach's alpha was high (α = 0.82)., Conclusion: The Children's Tinnitus Questionnaire (CTQ) is the first fully validated multi-item instrument designed specifically for children. The tool has the potential to become a valuable new instrument for use in clinical practice and research; it might be useful for assessing the impact of tinnitus on those children who find that the condition creates problems in their everyday life., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chronic tinnitus is a common symptom of the auditory system. A causal therapy does not yet exist. The recommended treatment includes expert counseling, psychotherapeutic interventions, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, and measures to improve hearing. The treatment modules are multimodal and can be combined individually. Depending on the severity of the different disease dimensions (tinnitus and comorbidities), a rehabilitative approach may be useful for maintaining health and occupational ability. In addition to a thorough and well-founded diagnosis and counseling, specific cognitive behavioral therapy and non-specific psychotherapeutic interventions (mindfulness/relaxation) on an individual or group basis, physiotherapy, and exercise, as well as auditory rehabilitation measures (hearing aids, auditory therapy) in the context of multimodal therapy approaches are necessary., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Objective: To investigate the relative effectiveness of various Non-Invasive Treatment Techniques (NITs) in chronic tinnitus management., Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases from the time of data construction to December 31, 2022. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, NITs were evaluated, including Aacceptance and commitment therapy (A), Cognitive behavioral therapy (C), Sound therapy (S), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (T), Electrical stimulation therapy (E), Virtual reality therapy (V), tinnitus Retraining therapy (R), general psychotherapy (D), and Placebo (P). The outcome indicators included the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-anxiety-Depression (HADS-D), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Visual Analogue Scales-Loudness (VAS-L), and Visual Analogue Scales-Distress (VAS-D). Statistical analysis was performed using Stata 14.0 for NMA., Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 22 randomized controlled trials comprising 2,354 patients. The treatment effects varied on each scale. For THI, S (86.9%) was the most effective, whereas P (6.5%) was the worst. For TQ, C (89.5%) was the most effective, whereas D (25.4%) was the worst. For HADS-D, A (82.4%) was the most effective, whereas D (9.47%) was the worst. For ISI, A (83.2%) was the most effective, whereas R (20.6%) was the worst. For VAS-L, S (73.5%) was the most effective, whereas E (18.9%) was the worst. For VAS-D, C (84.7%) was the most effective, whereas P (18.1%) was the worst., Conclusions: The combination of acoustics and cognitive behavioral therapy may be an effectively treat patients with chronic tinnitus., Level of Evidence: How common is the problem? Level 2. Is this diagnostic or monitoring test accurate? (Diagnosis) Level 1. What will happen if we do not add a therapy? (Prognosis) Level 1. Does this intervention help? (Treatment Benefits) Level 1. What are the COMMON harms? (Treatment Harms) Level 1. What are the RARE harms? (Treatment Harms) Level 1. Is this (early detection) test worthwhile? (Screening) Level 1I., (Copyright © 2024 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier España S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The aims were to highlight noise levels on board and the health effects of noise on seafarers. Data was collected from multiple databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Ebsco Host. Initially, the search resulted in a total of 197 articles, 16 were chosen. Several ships were found which most sailors had noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) ( n  = 6). The engine room has been defined as having the highest level of noise. In addition, noise exposure was associated with hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep disturbances, communication difficulties, poor concentration, dizziness, depression, anxiety, headache, fatigue, and stress. Noise exposure is not the only factor that causes health problems: the duration of exposure while working, years of career as a maritime worker, age, lifestyle habits (smoking, alcohol consumption), and even hobbies related to loud sound (such as concert/disco attendance, listen to loud music, etc.) were associated with the adverse health effects experienced by seafarers.

Background: Tinnitus affects approximately 740 million adults globally, involving hearing, emotion, and sleep systems. However, studies using polysomnography and pure-tone audiometry (PTA) are limited. We aimed to assess the correlation between tinnitus and hearing, sleep quality, characteristics, and depression using polysomnography and PTA., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we divided participants into tinnitus and non-tinnitus groups. We included 100 outpatients (65 with tinnitus, 35 without) from a medical center in Taiwan, who underwent polysomnography and completed rating scales including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Chinese-Mandarin version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-CM). We analyzed correlations, conducted group comparisons, assessed factors related to THI-CM scores, constructed ROC curves to predict depression in the tinnitus group, and performed multinomial and logistic regression to explore associations., Results: Descriptive statistics identified a cohort with mean age 53.9 ± 12.80 years, 63% exhibited PHQ-9 scores ≥ 10, and 66% had Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) > 5. The ratio of rapid eye movement and deep sleep to stage 1 + 2 sleep was relatively low and non-significant. Likewise, leg movements was higher in the tinnitus group but not statistically significant. In the tinnitus group, 63.08% had depression, and 81.54% had AHI > 5. Univariate logistic regression linked tinnitus to AHI > 5 (Odds ratio (OR) 2.67, p = 0.026) and male sex (OR 2.49, p = 0.034). A moderate positive correlation was found between the THI-CM score and PHQ-9 score (rs = 0.50, p < 0.001). Further adjustment for obstructive sleep apnea showed associations between PHQ-9 (total score) or depression and THI-CM Grade 3-5 (OR = 1.28; OR = 8.68). Single- and multifactor regression analyses highlighted significant associations of PSQI scores > 13 (OR 7.06, p = 0.018) and THI-CM scores > 47 (OR 7.43, p = 0.002) with depression., Conclusions: Our study recruited tinnitus participants with slight or mild hearing loss and mild tinnitus handicap. Depression was identified as a predominant factor in tinnitus-related handicap. The mild tinnitus handicap in tinnitus participants may explain the lack of significant differences in depression, sleep quality, and polysomnographic sleep characteristics between tinnitus and non-tinnitus groups. Further extensive and prospective studies are needed to elucidate the complex links among depression, sleep, and tinnitus., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: So far, there have been no in-depth analyses of the connection between tinnitus sensation-level loudness and sleep quality. Accordingly, the present study was formulated as a mediation analysis focused on exploring this relationship., Method: Overall, 1,255 adults with consecutive subjective tinnitus who had sought outpatient treatment were enrolled in the present study., Results: Direct effects of tinnitus sensation-level loudness on sleep quality were not statistically significant (95% confidence intervals [CI] include zero), as measured by the point estimate, -0.016. However, the 95% CI for indirect effects did not include zero when assessing the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores, the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores, the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and self-reported tinnitus annoyance., Conclusions: These results suggest that tinnitus sensation-level loudness does not directly have an effect on sleep quality. However, it indirectly impacts sleep quality, mediated by SAS scores, SDS scores, the impact of tinnitus on life measured using the VAS, and self-reported tinnitus annoyance. As such, alleviating anxiety and depression in patients with tinnitus may result in reductions in their insomnia even if there is no reduction in tinnitus loudness. Importantly, otolaryngologists and other clinicians treating tinnitus should refer patients with tinnitus suffering from insomnia with comorbid depression or anxiety for appropriate psychological and/or psychiatric treatment.

The perception of a continuous phantom in a sensory domain in the absence of an external stimulus is explained as a maladaptive compensation of aberrant predictive coding, a proposed unified theory of brain functioning. If this were true, these changes would occur not only in the domain of the phantom percept but in other sensory domains as well. We confirm this hypothesis by using tinnitus (continuous phantom sound) as a model and probe the predictive coding mechanism using the established local-global oddball paradigm in both the auditory and visual domains. We observe that tinnitus patients are sensitive to changes in predictive coding not only in the auditory but also in the visual domain. We report changes in well-established components of event-related EEG such as the mismatch negativity. Furthermore, deviations in stimulus characteristics were correlated with the subjective tinnitus distress. These results provide an empirical confirmation that aberrant perceptions are a symptom of a higher-order systemic disorder transcending the domain of the percept., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the presence of positive experiences reported by individuals with tinnitus in the United States., Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The data were analysed using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative ( t -test or Chi-square test) analyses., Study Sample: Study participants were individuals participating in clinical trials involving Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) for tinnitus. A total of 439 respondents, 211 (48.1%) male and 228 (51.9%) female responded, and data were collected via an online questionnaire., Results: Of the 439 participants, 164 (i.e. 37.4%) reported at least one positive experience. Younger participants and those with lower hearing disability were more likely to report positive experiences. The responses were categorised into six categories: Outlook ( n  = 139), Personal development ( n  = 42), Treatment-related ( n  = 42), Coping ( n  = 29), Support ( n  = 19), and Disease-specific ( n  = 19)., Conclusions: The ability of individuals with chronic tinnitus to identify positive experiences may give insights regarding acceptance and coping with tinnitus as well as the temperament of individuals reporting positive experiences. Considering these variables may help when planning individualised rehabilitation programs.

Objectives: The lived experience of tinnitus has biopsychosocial characteristics which are influenced by sociocultural factors. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how tinnitus affects people in their everyday life in China. A deductive qualitative analysis examined whether an a priori Western-centric conceptual framework could extend to an Asian context., Design: A large-scale prospective survey collected patient-reported problems associated with tinnitus in 485 adults attending four major ENT clinics in Eastern and Southern mainland China., Results: The evidence suggests that patients in China express a narrower range of problem domains associated with the lived experience of tinnitus. While 13 tinnitus-related problem domains were confirmed, culture-specific adaptations included the addition uncomfortable (a novel concept not previously reported), and the potential exclusion of concepts such as intrusiveness , loss of control , loss of peace and loss of sense of self ., Conclusions: The sociocultural context of patients across China plays an important role in defining the vocabulary used to describe the patient-centred impacts of tinnitus. Possible explanatory factors include cultural differences in the meaning and relevance of certain concepts relating to self and in help-seeking behaviour, low health literacy and a different lexicon in Chinese compared to English to describe tinnitus-related problems.

Objective: To evaluate differences in tinnitus impact, hyperacusis and hearing threshold level (HTL) between patients with unilateral and bilateral tinnitus. For patients with unilateral tinnitus, to compare audiological variables for the tinnitus ear and the non-tinnitus ear. To assess whether the presence of unilateral tinnitus increases the likelihood of interaural hearing asymmetry (relative to bilateral tinnitus) that warrants referral for an MRI scan., Design: Retrospective cross-sectional., Study Sample: Data regarding HTLs and responses to self-report questionnaires were collected from the records of 311 patients attending a tinnitus clinic., Results: 38.5% had unilateral tinnitus and the ears with tinnitus had higher HTLs and greater HTL slopes than the ears without tinnitus. There was no significant difference in tinnitus impact and hyperacusis between patients with unilateral and bilateral tinnitus. 40% of patients with unilateral tinnitus and 13% of patients with bilateral tinnitus had a between-ear difference in HTL ≥15 dB at two adjacent frequencies (2AF15 asymmetry). Unilateral tinnitus increased the risk of 2AF15 asymmetry by a factor of 4.4., Conclusions: Unilateral tinnitus increases the risk of having interaural asymmetry in HTLs that warrants referral for an MRI scan.

Background: Pathophysiological theories assume importance of metabolic abnormalities in patients with major depression - and possibly chronic tinnitus. Although chronic tinnitus frequently correlates with depression, links between high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and depression are uninvestigated., Methods: Two-hundred patients with chronic tinnitus (M age  = 55; 51% female) were examined. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), HDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), non-HDL, as well as LDL/HDL and TC/HDL ratios were analysed. Questionnaires included depression subscales of the ICD-10 Symptom Rating, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS&#95;D), and the Berlin Mood Questionnaire (BSF). Multivariate analyses of covariance and linear regression models - which controlled age, tinnitus-related distress and perceived stress - investigated between-subgroup differences (p < 0.05) and linear associations between HDL indices and depression (p < 0.01)., Results: HDL levels did not differ for tinnitus-symptom durations, smoking and alcohol use levels, statin or antihypertensive drug use, and body-mass indices. Relative to non-to-mildly depressed patients with chronic tinnitus, patients with moderate-to-severe depression (n = 45; 23%) had significantly lower HDL levels (d = -0.35) and higher LDL/HDL (d = 0.39) and TC/HDL ratios (d = 0.40). Across participants, HDL-levels were negatively associated with depression as measured by the HADS&#95;D and BSF&#95;indifference scales., Conclusions: In keeping with general depression research, low serum HDL levels correlate with depressive symptomatology in patients with chronic tinnitus. This association may be influenced by proximal (e.g. modulations of HPA-axis activity) or distal factors (e.g. maladaptive coping behaviours) - both of which should be conceptualized within psychological stimulus-processing frameworks., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To ensure that subjective tinnitus patients develop positive attitudes toward tele-audiology., Aims/objectives: This study investigates the appropriateness of the internet-based software in patients with subjective tinnitus., Material and Methods: Patients between the ages of 19 and 59 applying to the clinic with the subjective tinnitus filled in Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI) and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS). Visual Numeric Scale (VNS) was applied to the patients to complaint of tinnitus. Parameter measurements related to hearing and tinnitus were performed clinically. After the evaluations, 54 participants were divided into two groups to receive the 'Basic Information Material Service' (BIMS) face-to-face and online. Afterwards, THI and VNS were used to determine the current status., Results: There was no significant difference between the groups that received BIMS with 2 different methods ( p > .05). A significant difference was found in the scores before and after BIMS in terms of THI and VNS ( p < .05). A strong negative correlation was found between the duration of tinnitus and the change in THI. In addition, there is a stronger-negative relationship between the number of centers consulted and the informational benefit revealed by the scales., Conclusions and Significance: Online intervention is as effective as face-to-face interaction in the management of tinnitus.

Objective: Tinnitus is one of the most common otologic symptoms and has a serious effect on the quality of life. The pathophysiology of tinnitus is not fully understood and no consensus has been reached on an effective treatment method for tinnitus. To evaluate the effectiveness of the kinesiotape (KT) method in subjective tinnitus treatment., Material and Method: KT is a method used for sensory simulation. It is a method that aims to increase muscle function, positively affect lymphatic fluid and blood circulation, and stimulate the neurological system. In this study, KT method was applied and the study was prospective. 34 individuals with subjective tinnitus, and normal hearing were included. The study group (n = 17) was informed about tinnitus and KT was applied for 4 weeks, the control group (n = 17) was only informed about tinnitus. The information about tinnitus given to both groups included verbal information about what tinnitus is, how to deal with tinnitus and basic recommendations. All individuals were initially administered tinnitus measurements (pitch, loudness, minimal masking level, residual inhibition), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), SF-36, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). All evaluations were repeated after 4 weeks., Results: Tinnitus loudness and pitch decreased in the KT group (P < .05). In both groups, there was a significant difference between the first and last measurements of the severity of tinnitus, the degree of discomfort from tinnitus with VAS, and the catastrophic and total scores of THI (P < .05). KT group, the emotional sub-score of THI improved significantly with KT (P < .05), and significant improvement was achieved in the BDI scores (P < .05). There was a significant difference in the SF-36 after the application of KT (P < .05)., Conclusion: In subjective tinnitus, the pathophysiology of which is unknown and there is no consensus on an effective treatment method, improvement in tinnitus severity, quality of life and depression perception in both audiologic and perceptual evaluations were obtained as a result of KT application. We believe that KT, which has no side effects and is easy to apply, is a method that can be easily used in individuals with subjective tinnitus.

Objectives: Our study aimed to verify the evidence of auditory training employed in the audiological treatment of tinnitus in adults and older adults., Methods: Scoping review based on a search for articles in journals available in MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase (Elsevier), LILACS (BVS), and Cochrane Library. Titles and abstracts of the retrieved articles were assessed by peers, following the eligibility criteria; they were afterward read in full text, and the references were hand searched in the results found. Studies' level of evidence was classified into very high (Level A+), high (Level A), moderate (Level B), limited (Level C), low (Level D), or very low (Level D-) based on the Critically Appraised Topics., Results: 2160 records were identified in the searching stage and 15 studies were eligible for data extraction. Study design, sample characterization, auditory training tasks, sound stimuli, outcome measures, and results were extracted. Frequency discrimination training was the most frequent strategy, followed by auditory attentional skills training and multisensory training. Almost all studies with daily auditory training sessions reported significant benefits demonstrated in at least one outcome measure. Studies that used auditory discrimination training and attentional auditory skill stimulation to treat tinnitus obtained quality evidence levels ranging from limited to high (C‒A) and studies that applied multisensory training or attentional training combined with counseling and passive listening in tinnitus patients reached a high-quality evidence level (A)., Conclusion: Recent studies had higher levels of evidence and considered attentional factors and multisensory pathways in auditory training strategies., (Copyright © 2023 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier España S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Subjective tinnitus (hereafter tinnitus) is often considered and studied as a perceptual phenomenon. Accordingly, various abnormalities in the area of cognitive processing have been reported in patients with tinnitus. At the same time, the disorder is characterized by considerable emotional distress, which is associated with a high comorbidity of affective disorders. Here, we aim to outline the close link between cognition and emotion, and how current research from the field of cognitive neuroscience examines the processing and acquisition of emotional stimuli. The emotional valence of stimuli can be acquired after brief exposure to learning, leading from neutral to appetitive or aversive evaluation. In contrast to neutral stimuli, emotional stimuli attract attention very early (about 100 ms) during processing, leading to deeper processing and corresponding memory effects. The involved subcortical and cortical network encompasses limbic and sensory areas. In particular, prefrontal regions are involved in the acquisition and evaluation of emotional stimuli as also shown in studies of patients with affect disorders. The interplay of cognitive and emotional processes seems to be central to the development, maintenance, and treatment of tinnitus., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of a new questionnaire evaluating patients' confidence in managing their tinnitus, the 4C tinnitus management questionnaire (4C), which was designed to be used in the process of cognitive behavioural therapy., Design: Retrospective cross-sectional based on patient records., Study Samples: 99 consecutive patients who sought help for tinnitus (with or without hyperacusis) from an audiology clinic in the UK. Pure tone average (PTA) hearing thresholds, Uncomfortable Loudness Levels (ULLs), and responses to the 4C questionnaire, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ), and Screening for Anxiety and Depression in Tinnitus (SAD-T) questionnaire were gathered from the records of patients held at the audiology department., Results: Cronbach's alpha for the 4C was 0.91, indicating high internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor solution. Discriminant validity was supported by weak correlations between 4C scores and PTA across ears and ULLmin (the across-frequency average ULL for the ear with lower average ULL). Convergent validity was supported by moderate correlations between 4C scores and scores for the THI, HQ, and SAD-T., Conclusions: The 4C is an internally consistent questionnaire with high convergent and discriminant validity, which can be used to assess patients' confidence in managing their tinnitus.

Purpose: The current study aims to explore the therapeutic effect of cochlear implants (CIs) on tinnitus in patients with single-sided deafness or asymmetric hearing loss (SSD/AHL) as well as the improvement of tinnitus-related quality of life and psychological status. In addition, we also explored whether the levels of quality of life and psychological status was related to the patient's implantation intention., Methods: Seven patients decided to receive cochlear implantation. Before and after implantation, they completed the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ) to assess tinnitus severity, the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) to assess the quality of life, the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) to assess psychological status. The other 8 SSD patients refused cochlear implantation. Their scores of the above questionnaires were compared with those of patients received implantation., Results: Six months after cochlear implantations, the tinnitus perception, loudness, and annoyance significantly decreased compared to that before implantation. In terms of quality of life and physiological status, no statistically significant changes were detected in SSQ, SF-36, and SCSQ measurements. The score of annoyance subcategory of VAS and all subcategories of SSQ of patients refused implantation were better than those of implanted patients before implantation., Conclusions: These results suggest that CIs can significantly reduce tinnitus severity. Patients refused implantation had better status in the annoyance of VAS and all subcategories of SSQ scores than those received implantation., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

One aim of our large-scale catamnesis was to prove that neuro-otological diagnostics and knowledge are a fundamental prerequisite in counseling, but also that the counterpart, the patient, has to be reached in his or her distress. For this purpose, we had developed an own 6-part scaled questionnaire on the understanding of the counseled and on the feeling of being understood as a patient. Through its evaluation we had hoped to obtain reliable findings with regard to individual effect factors.Therefore we had mailed to 699 outpatients who had been counseled by us. In 295, the hearing findings, the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (TF 12) and the Hospitality Anxiety and Depression Scores (HADS) could be compared at two measurement points at least 6 months apart.While counseling was found to be sustainable in symptom reduction and compliance to implement recommended interventions, no significant single interactional factor in counseling was detected by our examiation after proper statistics were obtained.In the article, the steps taken and corrections made are also pointed out with regard to the appropriate statistical approach, also to point out that primarily clinicians often need the support of trained statisticians., Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

In advancing our understanding of tinnitus, some of the more impactful contributions in the past two decades have come from human brain imaging studies, specifically the idea of both auditory and extra-auditory neural networks that mediate tinnitus. These networks subserve both the perception of tinnitus and the psychological reaction to chronic, continuous tinnitus. In this article, we review particular studies that report on the nodes and links of such neural networks and their inter-network connections. Innovative neuroimaging tools have contributed significantly to the increased understanding of anatomical and functional connections of attention, emotion-processing, and default mode networks in adults with tinnitus. We differentiate between the neural correlates of tinnitus and those of comorbid hearing loss; surprisingly, tinnitus and hearing loss when they co-occur are not necessarily additive in their impact and, in rare cases, additional tinnitus may act to mitigate the consequences of hearing loss alone on the brain. The scale of tinnitus severity also appears to have an impact on brain networks, with some of the alterations typically attributed to tinnitus reaching significance only in the case of bothersome tinnitus. As we learn more about comorbid conditions of tinnitus, such as depression, anxiety, hyperacusis, or even aging, their contributions to the network-level changes observed in tinnitus will need to be parsed out in a manner similar to what is currently being done for hearing loss or severity. Together, such studies advance our understanding of the heterogeneity of tinnitus and will lead to individualized treatment plans., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Association for Research in Otolaryngology.)

Mechanistic insight is achieved only when experiments are employed to test formal or computational models. Furthermore, in analogy to lesion studies, phantom perception may serve as a vehicle to understand the fundamental processing principles underlying healthy auditory perception. With a special focus on tinnitus-as the prime example of auditory phantom perception-we review recent work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, psychology and neuroscience. In particular, we discuss why everyone with tinnitus suffers from (at least hidden) hearing loss, but not everyone with hearing loss suffers from tinnitus. We argue that intrinsic neural noise is generated and amplified along the auditory pathway as a compensatory mechanism to restore normal hearing based on adaptive stochastic resonance. The neural noise increase can then be misinterpreted as auditory input and perceived as tinnitus. This mechanism can be formalized in the Bayesian brain framework, where the percept (posterior) assimilates a prior prediction (brain's expectations) and likelihood (bottom-up neural signal). A higher mean and lower variance (i.e. enhanced precision) of the likelihood shifts the posterior, evincing a misinterpretation of sensory evidence, which may be further confounded by plastic changes in the brain that underwrite prior predictions. Hence, two fundamental processing principles provide the most explanatory power for the emergence of auditory phantom perceptions: predictive coding as a top-down and adaptive stochastic resonance as a complementary bottom-up mechanism. We conclude that both principles also play a crucial role in healthy auditory perception. Finally, in the context of neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence, both processing principles may serve to improve contemporary machine learning techniques., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Objective: Treatment for tinnitus focuses on supportive therapies. Long waiting times in the National Health Service encourage telemedicine options as an alternative. This study aimed to review the literature on telemedicine in the management of tinnitus and analyse its impact on the burden of tinnitus, long-term, anxiety, depression, insomnia and quality of life., Method: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science were searched. English randomised, controlled trials with adult participants suffering from tinnitus were included. A random effects model looking at standardised mean differences between intervention and control groups was utilised., Results: Eleven randomised, controlled trials were included. Nine studies looked at internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy. A z -value of 9.87 ( p < 0.00001; I 2 = 21 per cent) showed telemedicine approaches may be better at reducing tinnitus burden compared with passive controls., Conclusion: Telemedicine options have multiple benefits, but more research will be needed to conclusively say they are better than alternatives.

Introduction: About 15% of the population suffers from tinnitus but only in 2-3% of cases the tinnitus is severe with great functioning difficulties. The distress caused by tinnitus is mostly caused by the reaction to the tinnitus and not by the tinnitus itself., Aims: Methods to alleviate the tinnitus distress are presented with emphasis on the importance of the primary detailed explanation to the patient., Methods: The management of the severe response to tinnitus is based on the ability to control it instead of being controlled by it. This task is accomplished by explaining the essence of the tinnitus and imbuing the patient with control of three things: the way of thinking, the mental stress and attention ability., Conclusions: The methods to mitigate tinnitus distress are presented. The importance of the primary detailed explanation to the patient is emphasized. The treatment is based on providing methods of mastering the way of thinking, controlling mental stress and managing the attention ability using the CBT technique., Discussion: Ear, nose, and throat (E.N.T) practitioners lack knowledge of treatment of the emotional reaction to tinnitus which results in frustration when dealing with the patient's complaints. In this article the basic tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment method are presented, along with explanations about the method with regard to coping with the emotional reaction to tinnitus.

The development and processing of tinnitus is often associated with stress. There are many publications on this subject that have investigated possible connections between stress perception and tinnitus symptoms using different concepts and different test inventories. In this review, we present the development of Selye's concept of stress using the transactional stress model of Lazarus and its transfer to patients suffering from tinnitus. The literature evaluating the influence of stress on tinnitus symptoms with partly very different concepts is critically reviewed. For example, it is suggested that psychosocial stress has the same likelihood of contributing to tinnitus as noise in the workplace. However, what is striking in previous studies is that "stress" as an influencing variable could not be clearly verified with suitable psychometric test procedures or that no significant differences-to very different comparison groups-could be shown. Finally, a possible therapeutic approach to stress management is outlined., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Subjective tinnitus (hereafter tinnitus) is often considered and studied as a perceptual phenomenon. Accordingly, various abnormalities in the area of cognitive processing have been reported in patients with tinnitus. At the same time, the disorder is characterized by considerable emotional distress, which is associated with a high comorbidity of affective disorders. Here, we aim to outline the close link between cognition and emotion, and how current research from the field of cognitive neuroscience examines the processing and acquisition of emotional stimuli. The emotional valence of stimuli can be acquired after brief exposure to learning, leading from neutral to appetitive or aversive evaluation. In contrast to neutral stimuli, emotional stimuli attract attention very early (about 100 ms) during processing, leading to deeper processing and corresponding memory effects. The involved subcortical and cortical network encompasses limbic and sensory areas. In particular, prefrontal regions are involved in the acquisition and evaluation of emotional stimuli as also shown in studies of patients with affect disorders. The interplay of cognitive and emotional processes seems to be central to the development, maintenance, and treatment of tinnitus., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Abstract: Of the 21% of the US population with tinnitus, between 3% and 6% develop tinnitus distress, a sudden, traumatic, and severe emotional response to tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective therapy for reducing the initial and secondary emotional stresses caused by tinnitus distress. The skills taught in CBT lead to habituation and desensitization, providing relief for the patient. This article describes tinnitus distress, CBT, and resources that clinicians can use immediately in their practices., (Copyright © 2023 American Academy of Physician Associates.)

Background: Patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL) are increasingly being treated with cochlear implants (CI) due to the demonstrated improvements in auditory abilities and quality of life. To date, there are few published studies in which these two groups are comparatively studied. The aim of the current study was to examine which factors differ between those two patient groups, especially preoperatively., Methods: A secondary analysis of the previously published raw data of 66 prospectively recruited CI patients (21 SSD/45 AHL) was performed. In addition to the hearing outcome, tinnitus distress (tinnitus questionnaire), health-related quality of life (Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire, NCIQ), stress (Perceived Stress Questionnaire, PSQ), and psychological comorbidities (General Depression Scale, ADS‑L and Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, GAD-7) were assessed in SSD and AHL patients pre- and postoperatively., Results: Preoperatively, SSD patients showed significantly higher scores in the NCIQ subdomains "elementary" and "advanced sound perception" than the AHL group. Stress (PSQ) and anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) were significantly higher preoperatively in SSD patients than in AHL patients. After CI, these differences were strongly reduced, with minimal differences being detectable between the groups in the investigated domains postoperatively., Conclusion: SSD and AHL patients differ significantly preoperatively in terms of their subjective hearing assessment and psychosocial parameters. In SSD patients, psychological stress factors may have a stronger impact on the quality of life than in AHL patients. These aspects should be taken into account in the preoperative counseling and postoperative rehabilitation., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Chronic subjective tinnitus can have a serious effect on daily life, even causing serious psychological disorders. Currently there are no specific effective solutions or cures. Tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) is a recently proposed sound therapy that has simpler processes and a higher compliance rate than tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), a widely used treatment for chronic subjective tinnitus. This study explores the therapeutic effect of TMNMT in comparison to TRT to highlight its clinical value., Design: The study was a randomized controlled, single-blinded clinical trial. One hundred twenty eligible participants were randomly assigned to receive TMNMT (n = 60) or TRT (n = 60) for 3 mo with concurrent follow-up. It should be noted that the duration of sound treatment in TRT was modified to 2 hr per day for better feasibility in practice. The primary outcome was mean change in tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) measured at baseline ( T0 ), 1 mo ( T1 ) and 3 mo ( T2 ) after intervention. Change in visual analog scale (VAS) was measured as a secondary outcome. A comparison of therapeutic effectiveness between TMNMT and TRT was evaluated by repeated measure analysis of variance., Results: One hundred and twelve (93%) of participants took part in the study, of which 64 were men and 48 women. Mean (SD) age was 42.80 (12.91) years. Fifty-eight were allocated to receive TMNMT and 54 to receive TRT. The between-group difference in primary outcome was -6.90 points (95% confidence interval [CI], -13.53 to -0.27) at T1 and -6.17 points (95% CI, -13.04 to 0.71) at T2 . These results closely reached to clinical significance of tinnitus-related effective relief. For the secondary outcome, the mean value in the TMNMT group was 0.83 points (95% CI, 0.12 to 1.54), significantly lower than the mean value of the TRT group. The differences in THI and VAS between the two groups were statistically significant after intervention. Further analysis showed that age and baseline THI and VAS scores were associated with change in THI and VAS scores after interventions., Conclusions: Both TMNMT and TRT were able to alleviate chronic subjective tinnitus effectively after a 3 month intervention. When the two forms of therapy were compared TMNMT appeared to be more effective and consequently potentially superior to TRT for reducing tinnitus loudness and functional and emotional disturbance associated with chronic subjective tinnitus., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The first aim of this study was to examine the relationship between having tinnitus and the need for recovery after work (NFR). The second aim was to investigate whether the level of tinnitus annoyance is associated with NFR., Design: Data from the 5- and 10-year follow-up measurement rounds of the Netherlands Longitudinal Study on Hearing (NL-SH) were used in a cross-sectional analyses. The NL-SH is a web-based prospective cohort study and includes participants aged 18 to 70 years at baseline. For this study, we included only participants who worked at least 12 hours/week and were under the age of 65 years. Participants completed questionnaires on demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, hearing-related, and work-related characteristics. In addition, participants answered questions about hearing ability and tinnitus and performed an online digit-triplet speech recognition in noise test to measure the speech reception threshold (SRT) in noise. Participants were asked if (1) they suffer from tinnitus and (2) to rate tinnitus annoyance on a 0-100 numeric rating scale. A linear mixed model was used (1) to estimate the overall (i.e., cross-sectional) association between having tinnitus and NFR and (2) to estimate the overall association between the level of tinnitus annoyance and NFR. The models were checked for effect modification and confounding of factors known to be associated with either tinnitus or NFR and available in the NL-SH., Results: The study sample comprised 770 unique participants in total; 686 and 335 participants at 5- and 10-year follow-up, respectively. Distress, somatization, and self-reported hearing disability appeared to be confounding factors in the analysis of having tinnitus and NFR. After adjusting for these factors, participants with tinnitus had a 2.5% higher NFR (95% confidence interval: -0.9 to 5.9; p = 0.15). In the analysis of tinnitus annoyance and NFR, SRT was an effect modifier. Distress, somatization, depression, and self-reported hearing disability were confounders. After adjustment for effect modification and confounding, tinnitus annoyance was not significantly associated with NFR ( p = 0.79 for tinnitus annoyance)., Conclusions: This study showed that having tinnitus was not associated with a higher NFR. Also, higher levels of tinnitus annoyance were not associated with a higher NFR. NFR was associated with the psychological factors distress, somatization, and depression, which are known to be intricately related to tinnitus. A longitudinal study design is recommended as it can assess the sequence of events, which might help disentangle the association between tinnitus, NFR, and psychological factors., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Ear & Hearing is published on behalf of the American Auditory Society, by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Speech-in-noise (SiN) recognition difficulties are often reported in patients with tinnitus. Although brain structural changes such as reduced gray matter (GM) volume in auditory and cognitive processing regions have been reported in the tinnitus population, it remains unclear how such changes influence speech understanding, such as SiN performance. In this study, pure-tone audiometry and Quick Speech-in-Noise test were conducted on individuals with tinnitus and normal hearing and hearing-matched controls. T1-weighted structural MRI images were obtained from all participants. After preprocessing, GM volumes were compared between tinnitus and control groups using whole-brain and region-of-interest analyses. Further, regression analyses were performed to examine the correlation between regional GM volume and SiN scores in each group. The results showed decreased GM volume in the right inferior frontal gyrus in the tinnitus group relative to the control group. In the tinnitus group, SiN performance showed a negative correlation with GM volume in the left cerebellum (Crus I/II) and the left superior temporal gyrus; no significant correlation between SiN performance and regional GM volume was found in the control group. Even with clinically defined normal hearing and comparable SiN performance relative to controls, tinnitus appears to change the association between SiN recognition and regional GM volume. This change may reflect compensatory mechanisms utilized by individuals with tinnitus who maintain behavioral performance., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Association for Research in Otolaryngology.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological inflexibility, depression, anxiety, and quality of life in patients with chronic tinnitus without hearing loss., Methods: The study was carried out involving 85 patients with chronic tinnitus without hearing loss and a control group of 80 individuals. All participants completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait, the Beck Depression Inventory, and Short Form-36., Results: The patient group exhibited higher Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (t=5.418, p<0.001), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (t=6.592, p<0.001), and Beck Depression Inventory (t=4.193, p<0.001) scores and lower physical component summary (t=4.648, p<0.001) and mental component summary (t=-5.492, p<0.001) scores than the control group. Psychological inflexibility predicted depression, anxiety, and impairment of quality of life. The effect of psychological inflexibility on physical component summary was mediated by depression (β=-0.15, [95%CI -0.299 to -0.017]), while its effect on mental component summary was mediated by anxiety and serial anxiety and depression (β=-0.17 [95%CI -0.344 to -0.055] and β=-0.06 [95%CI -0.116 to -0.100], respectively)., Conclusion: Psychological inflexibility plays an important role in patients with chronic tinnitus without hearing loss. It is associated with increased levels of anxiety and depression and decreased quality of life.

Background: Tinnitus affects around 15% of the population and can be a debilitating condition for a sizeable part of them. However, effective evidence-based treatments are scarce. One recommended treatment for tinnitus is cognitive behavioral therapy which has been found to be effective when delivered online. However, more treatments including mindfulness-based interventions have been studied recently in an attempt to facilitate the availability of effective treatments. There are promising findings showing great effects in reducing tinnitus-induced distress and some evidence about the efficacy of such intervention delivered online. However, there is a lack of evidence on how these two treatments compare against one another. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to compare Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus against an Internet-delivered mindfulness-based tinnitus stress reduction intervention in a three-armed randomized controlled trial with a waiting list control condition., Methods: This study will be a randomized controlled trial seeking to recruit Lithuanian-speaking individuals suffering from chronic tinnitus. The self-report measure Tinnitus Handicap Inventory will be used. Self-referred participants will be randomized into one of three study arms: Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy, Internet-delivered mindfulness-based tinnitus stress reduction intervention, or a waiting-list control group. Post-treatment measures will be taken at the end of the 8-week-long intervention (or waiting). Long-term efficacy will be measured 3 and 12 months post-treatment., Discussion: Internet-delivered interventions offer a range of benefits for delivering evidence-based treatments. This is the first randomized controlled trial to directly compare Internet-delivered CBT and MBTSR for tinnitus in a non-inferiority trial., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05705323. Registered on January 30, 2023., (© 2023. The Author(s).)