Tinnitus takes toll on quality of life
A study based on self-reported data from 2,800 participants showed that tinnitus affected almost 25 percent of the adults of the study to a certain degree. Nine percent suffered from moderate to severe tinnitus.
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The impact of tinnitus on quality of life was assessed through physical and mental health tests. It was found that the physical aspects were more affected than the psychological ones. Tinnitus clearly affects participants more in terms of a physical pain and stress level than on a mental and emotional level.
The study also showed that the impact of tinnitus on the quality of life increases with the severity of the tinnitus.
Call for prevention, diagnosis and treatment
It is estimated that tinnitus will affect more and more adults due to the improvement in longevity. Researchers call for an extra effort in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus among adults to improve their quality of life.
The study was carried out by researchers of the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the USA.
Source; Nondahl D, Cruickshanks KJ, Dalton DS, Klein BEK, Klein R, Schubert CR, Tweed TS, Wiley TL. The impact of tinnitus on quality of life in older adults. J Am Acad Audiol. 2000;18(3):257-266.