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The impact of co-morbid factors on the psychological outcome of tinnitus patients

  • Otology
  • Published:
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Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the impact of some co-morbid otological symptoms and demographic factors on the emotional distress and cognitive functioning in patients with tinnitus. One hundred consecutive patients, complaining of constant idiopathic tinnitus, were enrolled into the study. Four tests were administered: Beck Depression Inventory, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS, A—anxiety, D—depression), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Trail Making Test (TMT). A multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between the results of each of the tests and following co-morbid factors: age, sex, tinnitus duration, tinnitus laterality, hearing status (normal hearing, unilateral hearing loss and bilateral hearing loss) and vertigo/dizziness. It was found that the scores of MMSE and TMT were negatively correlated with age and with hearing status and the scores of HADS-A were slightly correlated with sex. In regression analysis, in HADS-A, sex and to a lesser extent tinnitus duration, in MMSE and TMT age and to a lesser extent tinnitus laterality were the variables that were comprised in the final model. Demographic factors had contributed more than overlapping otological symptoms to the psychological outcome in tinnitus patients.

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Acknowledgments

The work was granted by Medical University of Lodz, grant no. 503/2-036-01/503-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Barlicki University Hospital, Medical University of Lodz, 22, Kopcinskiego Str., 90-153, Lodz, Poland

    Anna Maria Pajor & Magdalena Jozefowicz-Korczynska

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

    Elżbieta Agata Ormezowska

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  1. Anna Maria Pajor
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  2. Elżbieta Agata Ormezowska
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  3. Magdalena Jozefowicz-Korczynska
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Correspondence to Anna Maria Pajor.

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Pajor, A.M., Ormezowska, E.A. & Jozefowicz-Korczynska, M. The impact of co-morbid factors on the psychological outcome of tinnitus patients. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 270, 881–888 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2079-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2079-3

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