Risk factors of decompensated tinnitus and the interaction effect of anxiety and poor sleep on decompensated tinnitus: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND

Decompensated tinnitus substantially degrades quality of life. Anxiety and poor sleep are comorbidities in decompensated tinnitus.

OBJECTIVE

This multicenter study was designed to investigate the risk factors of decompensated tinnitus and to analyze the interaction effect of anxiety and poor sleep on decompensated tinnitus by conducting a multicenter study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed patients with subjective chronic tinnitus who presented to five Chinese hospitals in China from September 2019 to November 2020. Demographic characteristics, pure tone audiometry, tinnitus-related tests, psychometric and sleep questionnaires were applied.

RESULTS

A total of 338 patients were included, and 99 (29.3%) patients were in the decompensated group. Poor sleep and anxiety were possible risk factors of decompensated tinnitus by a forced-entry binary logistic analysis. Sleep disturbances and anxiety had an additive interaction that accounted for 87% of the decompensated tinnitus cases in our study population (RERI = 10.96,  = 18.22, AP = 0.87).

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

Anxiety and sleep disturbances are possible risk factors of decompensated tinnitus. The combination of poor sleep and anxiety exerts a greater impact on tinnitus severity than either risk factor alone.