[The effects of tinnitus on the patients' quality of life].

Introduction

Tinnitus can be considered a common complaint that may significantly affect the patients’ quality of life. Tinnitus may be examined based on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire. Method: The current study involved a total of 559 patients with primary tinnitus who have filled in the validated Hungarian version of the THI questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using the IBM SPSS V24 software.

Results

According to sociographic variables, a mild female dominance was observed in the study population, while the average age of the tinnitus sufferers was about 60 years. In terms of laterality of the complaint, left and bilateral tinnitus dominated (39.1% and 40%). The median value was 22 months, considering the duration of the onset of the symptoms. By analysing the categories of the THI questionnaire, it was seen that the ratio of patients categorised into normal handicap was approximately 24% and that most patients were categorized into the mild handicap category (36.1%). In contrast, only 5.5% of patients reported a severe handicap. There was a significant difference between the values of all three groups (p<0.0001*, Kruskal–Wallis test), comparing the values of the individual subscores (functional, emotional, and catastrophic).

Conclusion

The use of the THI questionnaire is essential to assess the deterioration in the quality of life caused by tinnitus.