BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Psychological distress may develop from tinnitus, or that recognition of tinnitus may even be greater during exposure to environmental stress. So, patients with tinnitus need to consider the psychologic aspect in their diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the degree and characteristics of the psychologic factors associated in patients undergoing tinnitus retraining therapy.
MATERIALS AND METHOD: 119 patients with tinnitus who received the
Symptom Check List-90-Revision (SCL-90-R) and a control group without tinnitus were compared first; and then 92 out of 119 patients performed the follow up study after three months of tinnitus retraining therapy.
RESULTS: The results were as follows. 1) The tinnitus group scored higher than the control group in somatization, anxiety, phobic anxiety (p<0.05). 2) The gender difference, age, duration, position, hearing, and Feldmann masking curve of tinnitus were not related to the psychologic status of patients with tinnitus (p>0.05). 3) The psychologic aspect of patients with tinnitus were related to loudness, pitch, annoyance (p<0.05). 4) The follow-up study of 3 months on patients who underwent tinnitus retraining therapy showed diminished score in all components of SCL-90-R, except phobic anxiety, and paranoid (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the compliant behaviour of tinnitus is related closely with intrinsic psychodynamic mechanism.
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