Tinnitus Complaint and Health Changes

Abstract

Purpose: To verify the relation between tinnitus complaint, in patients with lower frequency thresholds from 3000 Hz, with gender and age group and association with health changes. Methods: The medical records of adults and the elderly were analyzed. They were treated in the period between September 2013 and June 2016, with complaints of tinnitus and audiological diagnosis of normal hearing, considering the means of frequencies of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz, with lowering frequency of 3000 Hz in both ears. The analysis included the absence or presence of self-reported health disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, and psychosocial disorders such as depression and anxiety. Results: The study group consisted of 38 patients, 21 women and 17 men, 21 adults and 17 elderly people. From the total, 68.4% reported health changes, 50% reported hypertension, 18.4% presented psychosocial changes, and 13.2% had diabetes and cholesterol. There was a significant association between the presence of altered health in women, as well as variable hypertension in elderly women. Conclusion: A similar distribution was found in both gender and age variable, with a low prevalence in women compared to men, and in adults compared to the elderly people. Most of the patients (68,4%) presented some health change, with prevalence of changes in women. Among changes, Arterial Hypertension was the most referred (50%), with a significant association regarding elderly women