University of Regensburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Regensburg, Germany.
University of Regensburg, Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), Regensburg, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 30;7:41521. doi: 10.1038/srep41521.
Tinnitus is primarily an auditory symptom. Yet not only patients and clinicians, but also current pathophysiological models relate the onset and maintenance of tinnitus to stress. Here physiological and psychological stress reactivity was investigated in 19 patients with subjective chronic tinnitus and 19 comparable healthy controls. All participants underwent five consecutive measurements in one session including three resting conditions and two stress tasks in between (mental arithmetic and concentration on tinnitus/ear noise). Stress reactivity was assessed by heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and subjective ratings for each of the five measurements. In patients with tinnitus, mean HR was overall decreased and blunted in response to acute stress induced by mental arithmetic compared to controls. HRV measures did not differ between both groups. Tinnitus sufferers indicated more subjective stress and increased awareness of tinnitus after the mental arithmetic task (during both resting and concentration on tinnitus measurements), but perceived similar levels of stress during mental arithmetic stress. In contrast to controls, HR and HRV were not correlated and also strain reports and physiological data were not associated in tinnitus. Our data show hints for a de-synchronization of physiological and psychological stress reactivity in chronic tinnitus.
耳鸣主要是一种听觉症状。然而，不仅是患者和临床医生，当前的病理生理学模型也将耳鸣的发生和维持与压力联系起来。在这里，研究了 19 名主观慢性耳鸣患者和 19 名可比健康对照者的生理和心理应激反应。所有参与者在一次会议中进行了五次连续测量，包括三个休息条件和两个中间的应激任务（心算和专注于耳鸣/耳噪声）。通过心率（HR）、心率变异性（HRV）和五次测量中的每一次的主观评分来评估应激反应。与对照组相比，耳鸣患者的平均心率在整个心算引起的急性应激反应中总体降低且变平。两组之间的 HRV 测量值没有差异。耳鸣患者在心算任务后（在休息和专注于耳鸣测量期间）表示更多的主观压力和对耳鸣的意识增加，但在进行心算应激时感知到相似水平的压力。与对照组相比，HR 和 HRV 之间没有相关性，耳鸣患者的压力报告和生理数据也没有关联。我们的数据表明，慢性耳鸣患者的生理和心理应激反应存在去同步化的迹象。
