Children's experience of tinnitus: a preliminary survey of children presenting to a psychology department.

Tinnitus has been much researched within adult populations with consideration of prevalence as well as the impact of tinnitus on individual's lives. Although the literature highlights the prevalence of tinnitus in children, there is little information on its effects from a psychological perspective. This small-scale preliminary study looked at 24 children (50% with normal hearing and 50% with a hearing loss) who presented to the Psychology Department with troublesome tinnitus. In line with adult studies, preliminary results suggested that tinnitus can have as marked an effect on children's lives as it is reported to have on adults. Insomnia, emotional distress, listening and attention difficulties are the main psychological factors associated with tinnitus in children. These, in turn, may have an effect upon their school performance. Differences were found between children with normal hearing and those with some degree of hearing loss. Overall, children with normal hearing found tinnitus more troublesome and presented with higher levels of anxiety than those with some level of hearing impairment. The present study suggests that children who complain of tinnitus should be taken seriously. In terms of management, individual intervention packages were found to be useful in alleviating anxiety and other associated factors. Recommendations are made on areas for future research.