Profiling intermittent tinnitus: a retrospective review

Abstract

Objective: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of tinnitus patients at a tertiary ENT clinic in Groningen, Netherlands. Our goal was to identify factors that differentiated the intermittent subgroup from the larger continuous group with chronic tinnitus. Design: Tinnitus-related factors such as hearing loss, emotional aspects, and demographics were used to advance our understanding of the subgroups. We analysed the data using descriptive statistics and binomial logistic regression, supplemented by random forests classification. Study sample: Patients presenting with tinnitus visiting the tinnitus clinic. We examined 1575 medical intake records obtained at a tertiary ENT hospital. Results: Duration, total Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and THI Functional subscale scores differed significantly between the two groups. Increasing age and higher THI Emotional subscale scores were associated with an increased likelihood of intermittent tinnitus. Increases in duration, depressive scores and THI Functional and Catastrophic subscale scores, decreased the likelihood of intermittent tinnitus. Conclusions: Results from this study dissociate the factors affecting those with intermittent and those with continuous tinnitus and point to potentially different mechanisms underlying the two conditions.

Hearing Aid Use Time Is Causally Influenced by Psychological Parameters in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss

“…Moreover, intermittent perception of the tinnitus sound was associated with lower levels of TFI-measured TRD, supporting some [ 105 , 106 ], but not all previous findings [ 107 ]. Underlying factors likely include both cognitive or behavioral processes such as higher attentional control [ 108 ], or individuals’ distress-related (in)abilities to distract themselves from the tinnitus percept [ 56 , 109 ].…”

Gender-Specific Risk Factors and Comorbidities of Bothersome Tinnitus

“…In addition, the question confounded continuity and annoyance of tinnitus, as "non-bothersome tinnitus" was defined as occurring sometimes, and "bothersome tinnitus" was defined as occurring constantly. Yet studies indicate that the tinnitus-associated burden and functional impact of constant tinnitus are indeed higher than those of intermittent/occasional tinnitus (Schlee et al, 2017;Koops et al, 2019).…”

Multidisciplinary Tinnitus Research: Challenges and Future Directions From the Perspective of Early Stage Researchers

“…This section discussed various dimensions of tinnitus heterogeneity, however, not in an exhaustive way. For example, tinnitus heterogeneity can also be explored in terms of differences in onset-related characteristics, modulating factors and other temporal and perceptual characteristics of tinnitus (e.g., tinnitus being maskable and/or prone to residual inhibition or not), and characteristics of response to specific treatments (Noreña et al, 1999;Koops et al, 2019;Simoes et al, 2019). Some of these sources of heterogeneity are touched upon in the following sections.…”