Assessment of psychopathological aspects and psychiatric comorbidities in patients affected by tinnitus

The aim of present study was to determine the psychiatric symptoms and comorbidities in patients affected by tinnitus. The study sample, between June 2004 and September 2005, consisted of 180 Turkish adults living in Elazig. Ninety consecutive tinnitus patients were enrolled on their first visit to the outpatients clinic. Control subjects were recruited partly from the social surroundings of the authors. All subjects with significant medical and/or psychiatric pathologies, such as schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, dementia, and behavioural disorders with social withdrawal or suicidal risk, were excluded, as were those unwilling to take part in the study. For the psychopathological examination, patients underwent the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-I, SCID-II). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Symptom Check list-90 (Revised) (SCL-90-R) were also administered to patients with tinnitus and control subjects. SCL-90-R subscales scores, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory scores were significantly higher in tinnitus patients than in normal control subjects. Twenty-four patients (26.70%) with tinnitus had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Five control subjects (5.60%) had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. There were significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.001). Anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders were significantly higher in tinnitus patients than in normal control subjects. We conclude that psychiatric symptoms (such as symptoms of anxiety, depression or somatization) among patients with tinnitus should alert clinicians for the presence of a chronic and complex psychiatric condition (Axis-I and Axis-II disorders).