Tinnitus in the General Population With a Focus on Noise and Stress: A Public Health Study

Abstract

Objectives: 

To evaluate the influence of noise and stress on the probability of tinnitus in the general population.

Design: 

Questionnaire data were obtained from 12,166 subjects.

Results: 

Each year of age increased the odds ratio of tinnitus by about 3%. Men generally showed a higher risk for tinnitus compared with women. Exposure to noise and stress emerged important for the probability of tinnitus. However, for the transition from mild to severe tinnitus, stress turned out to be especially important.

Conclusions: 

Stress management strategies should be included in hearing conservation programs, especially for individuals with mild tinnitus who report a high stress load.

In Brief

Questionnaire data regarding noise and stress from 12,166 subjects, randomly selected from the entire Swedish population, were used to study the probability of tinnitus. Each year of age increased the odds ratio of tinnitus by about 3%. Men generally showed higher risk compared with women. Exposure to noise and stress emerged important for the probability of tinnitus. For the transition from mild to severe tinnitus, stress exposure was more important than noise exposure. We suggest that stress management strategies are be included in hearing conservation programs, especially for individuals with mild tinnitus who report a high stress load.