The epidemiology of tinnitus

Abstract

This review considers epidemiological studies of tinnitus published in the decade 1993–2003. Ten studies reported tinnitus prevalence data ranging from 3% to 30%; four found tinnitus prevalence of 10.1%–14.5%. Tinnitus is associated with hearing loss and is positively correlated with the severity of the self‐reported loss or measured hearing impairment. There were no consistent findings with regard to the relationship between tinnitus prevalence and age or gender. For the first time two studies reported incidence data for tinnitus, with findings of 7.0% and 5.7% for 2‐year and 5‐year incidence respectively. Clinical risk factors associated with tinnitus included cardiovascular disease, history of significant middle ear disease and depression. The wide range in tinnitus prevalence appears to be less related to variation in the tinnitus questions used in the studies than to variation in the specification of the severity and/or frequency of the reported tinnitus. Major differences in other methodological aspects persist.