Did COVID-19 make tinnitus, 'ringing' in the ears, worse?
Researchers compare patients with tinnitus before and during the pandemic


Date:
March 2, 2022
Source:
Florida Atlantic University
Summary:
Many people impacted by COVID-19 experienced changes in their
sense of smell, taste, hearing, balance and in some cases,
tinnitus, 'ringing' in the ears. Among the various causes of
tinnitus is stress. What's unclear, however, is whether the
psychological impacts of the pandemic such as stress actually
worsened tinnitus. Researchers assessed whether the severity
of tinnitus, as measured using ratings of tinnitus loudness,
annoyance, and effect on life, was influenced by the lockdown
related to pandemic. Results do not support the idea that the
pandemic led to a worsening of tinnitus and the mean scores did
not differ significantly for the groups seen prior to the pandemic
and during lockdown.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Tinnitus, most often described as "ringing" in the ears even though
no external sound is present, also can be perceived as humming,
hissing, buzzing or roaring sounds. According to the United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 50 million Americans experience some form of tinnitus -- 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases. Worldwide, about 30 percent of people will experience tinnitus at some point in their life.


==========================================================================
Many individuals impacted by COVID-19 experienced changes in their sense
of smell, taste, hearing, balance and in some cases, tinnitus. Among
the various causes of tinnitus is stress, including tension, anxiety and depression. What's unclear, however, is whether the psychological impacts
of the pandemic such as stress actually worsened tinnitus and its impacts.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University, the Royal Surrey NHS
Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, and the University of Cambridge conducted a study that focused on the potential indirect effects of
COVID-19 on the experience of tinnitus. They assessed whether the
severity of tinnitus, as measured using ratings of tinnitus loudness, annoyance, and effect on life, was influenced by the lockdown related
to pandemic. Although COVID-19 upended so many aspects of society,
there is some good news -- at least as it relates to tinnitus.

For the study, researchers compared two independent groups of new
patients; one group assessed during three months of lockdown in the United Kingdom and one group assessed during the same period in the preceding
year. They examined patients' pure-tone audiometry, and their score on
visual analog scale (VAS) of tinnitus loudness, annoyance, and effect
on life, which were imported from their records. Researchers compared
VAS ratings from both groups. All patients were seeking help for their
tinnitus for the first time.

Results of the study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology,do not support the idea that the pandemic led to a worsening
of tinnitus loudness, annoyance, or impact on life and the mean scores
did not differ significantly for the groups seen prior to and during
lockdown. Any changes in psychological well-being or stress produced
by the lockdown did not significantly affect ratings of the severity
of tinnitus.

"People experienced various types of adversities during the pandemic,
including loss of income, difficulty in obtaining services, experience
of the virus itself, and the impact of constant bad news and social distancing," said Ali Danesh, Ph.D., co-author, professor, Department
of Communication Sciences and Disorders/Communication Disorders Clinic
within FAU's College of Education, a member of FAU's Stiles-Nicholson
Brain Institute and FAU's Institute for Human Health and Disease
Intervention, professor of biomedical sciences, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine, and an affiliate faculty, Department of Psychology, FAU Charles
E. Schmidt College of Science. "It's possible that pandemic related
factors exacerbate the experience of tinnitus, as tinnitus is linked to
general anxiety and psychological well-being. On the other hand, perhaps
the effect of COVID-19 on everyday life made individuals with tinnitus
realize that there are more important things than tinnitus, putting it
into perspective and leading to a decrease of the impact of tinnitus that counteracted any effect of increased anxiety and decreased well-being."
Several studies on tinnitus reported sleep-related problems, poor mental health, and suicidal ideations as consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
and its associated social isolation and economic uncertainties.

"It is questionable whether people are able to judge reliably whether
their tinnitus itself has changed or whether their tinnitus-related
symptoms such as sleep disturbances or anxiety have changed," said
Hashir Aazh, Ph.D., affiliate associate professor at FAU and Honorary
Hearing Research Consultant, Department of Audiology, Royal Surrey
County Hospital. "Prior studies of the indirect effects of COVID-19 on
the experience of tinnitus have used different methodologies, which
may have led to biases." The current study avoided potential biases
by comparing self-reported tinnitus severity between new patients seen
during lockdown and another group of patients seen during the same time
frame, preceding lockdown.

"If a given respondent felt that their tinnitus was worse during the
pandemic than before the pandemic, how could they determine whether this
was due to lifestyle changes, health concerns, or social distancing?,"
said Danesh.

"Visual analog scale scores for tinnitus loudness, annoyance, and impact
on life did not differ significantly between new patients seen prior to
and during lockdown. This may indicate that tinnitus can influence anxiety
and well-being, but there is not an effect in the opposite direction."
The retrospective study examined data for 105 consecutive patients who
were seen at a tinnitus clinic in an audiology department in the United
Kingdom during lockdown and 123 patients seen in the same period of the previous year.

The average age of the patients seen during the lockdown was 50 years,
while the average age of the patients seen in 2019 was 56 years. The
two groups were reasonably well matched in age, gender, and severity of
hearing loss.

Study co-author is Brian C. Moore, Ph.D., emeritus professor of
auditory perception, Department of Experimental Psychology, University
of Cambridge.

special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Florida_Atlantic_University. Original written by Gisele Galoustian. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Hashir Aazh, Ali A. Danesh, Brian C. J. Moore. Self-Reported
Tinnitus
Severity Prior to and During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the United
Kingdom.

Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 2022; 32 (09):
562 DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1731733 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302092736.htm

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