Context: There may be a connection between tinnitus, a common disease in society, and psychiatric disorders. When the literature is reviewed, it has been realized that more data are needed to elucidate this issue.
Aims: The aim of this study is to compare the symptoms of anxiety sensitivity, anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in patients with tinnitus with healthy individuals and to investigate the relationship between tinnitus and psychiatric disorder symptoms.
Settings and design: This study was designed as a case-control study.
Materials and methods: Fifty-one patients with tinnitus and 51 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Clinical severity of the psychiatric variables were evaluated by Beck depression inventory, Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), anxiety sensitivity index-3, and adult ADHD self-report scale (ASRS) in patient and control groups.
Statistical analysis used: Variables are presented as either a number, a percentage, a mean ± standard deviation, or frequency. Chi-squared, Student t tests, and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the relationship between variables.
Results: Logistic regression analysis results indicated that a significant predictive power of BAI for the presence of tinnitus. Based on a backward-elimination regression analysis, ASRSs (inattention subscale scores) were considered to predict a higher tinnitus handicap inventory score.
Conclusion: These findings provide additional evidence that anxiety and attention-deficit (inattentive) symptoms could contribute to the pathophysiology of tinnitus.
Keywords: Anxiety; anxiety sensitivity; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; depression; psychiatric disorders; tinnitus.