Psychological morbidity and resilience associated with tinnitus in a Sri Lankan population

Abstract

ObjectiveTinnitus is a common and debilitating health condition. It is often associated with psychiatric morbidity. This important health concern has not been studied previously in Sri Lanka. We aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological morbidity, resilience and their correlates among a cohort of Sri Lankan patients with tinnitus. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among attendees of otolaryngology clinics in three Sri Lankan hospitals, using a specially designed questionnaire. Resilience was defined as absence of psychological morbidity and functional impairment. ResultsOf the 200 patients included in the study, 82.5% reported functional impairment due to tinnitus. The majority of participants were found to have depression (61.5%). Sleep disturbance, feeling exhausted, loudness of tinnitus and functional impairment were significantly associated with psychological morbidity. Only 12% of participants were resilient and it was associated with mind-fulness and ability to distract self. ConclusionsTinnitus is a distressing illness associated with a significant functional impairment and psychiatric morbidity. We discuss the implication of this study for clinical practice.

Validation of the Sinhala Version of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory

“…Psyhological morbidity reported in this sample is similar to the prevalence reported in Sri Lankan and international studies conducted in individuals with tinntius [6,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Severity of tinnitus in our sample is largely similar to other validation studies [20,28].…”

“…Severe annoyance associated with tinnitus is linked to increased suicide [2]. While prevalence of tinnitus in Sri Lanka is not known, it is estimated that least 2 million Sri Lankans experience tinnitus during their lifetime [6]. A Sri Lankan study found that 82.5% reported functional impairment due to tinnitus and 61.5% were found to have depression [6].…”

“…While prevalence of tinnitus in Sri Lanka is not known, it is estimated that least 2 million Sri Lankans experience tinnitus during their lifetime [6]. A Sri Lankan study found that 82.5% reported functional impairment due to tinnitus and 61.5% were found to have depression [6]. Tinnitus remains an undertreated condition in Sri Lanka in spite of its high prevalence, and associated impairment at least in part due to failure to identify the impact of tinnitus [6].…”