PERCEIVED SEVERITY OF TINNITUS IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

Abstract

Background: Tinnitus as a stressor has been evaluated among different populations with varying prevalence figures and gender preponderance. 
Its psychological impacts on the people have been enumerated. However, the effect of gender on the expression of emotional distress to tinnitus is 
still debatable. 
Aim: To determine gender differences in the relationship between the severity of tinnitus and stress in the community
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, community-based study of adults with complaints of tinnitus of unknown cause. Participants 
were selected from both the urban and rural communities in Ibadan. They were interviewed with an already prepared questionnaire aimed at eliciting otological symptoms and general medical conditions. The severity of the tinnitus was determined using the visual analogue scale, and then the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ) and the mini tinnitus questionnaire (mini-TQ) were administered.
Results: There were 327 respondents, 196 (59.9%), of whom were males, age range was between 19 and 80 years. The mean age of all the 
respondents was 51.88 (±15.11) years, and there was no significant difference between the mean age of male and female groups (t=-0.956, 
p=0.340). The education status, frequency of occurrence of tinnitus, affected ear and severity were also comparable in both groups and there was no significant difference in the mean scores of mini-TQ and PSQ-index scores between male and female groups. Only the worries subscale of the 
PSQ had a significantly higher mean score in the male group (t=2.301, p=0.022). 
The severity of tinnitus was associated with the inability to relax, poor sleep, and feeling low in both groups, but it did not show any significant 
relationship with concentration in both groups. Subjective severity of tinnitus showed a significant positive correlation with age and mini-TQ in 
both groups, although the correlation was stronger in the male group. 
The mini-TQ correlated positively with age and severity of tinnitus in both groups. In addition, while it correlated with PSQ-index, harassment, 
lack of joy, fatigue, worries, and tension in the female group, only the lack of joy and worries subscale correlated with it in the male group. 
Conclusion: The males worry more about the severity of tinnitus, but the emotional distress expressed by females is more than that of males and 
may tend to affect the female’s quality of life more.