As with many chronic conditions, there’s a mental health element to tinnitus. It isn’t just a matter of coping with the symptoms. It’s finding the inner fortitude and resilience to do it regularly without knowing whether they will ever go away permanently. Unfortunately, for some, tinnitus can cause depression.
According to research carried out by the Stockholm Public Health Cohort (SPHC) and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, chronic tinnitus has been associated with an increase in suicide rates, especially among women.
Suicide And Tinnitus, What’s The Link?
In order to establish any type of connection between suicide and tinnitus, researchers at the SPHC surveyed around 70,000 people (Accurate, reliable results require large sample sizes).
According to the answers they received:
- Tinnitus symptoms were reported by 22.5% of respondents.
- Suicide attempts occurred with 9% of women with significant tinnitus.
- Of the men with severe tinnitus, 5.5% had attempted suicide.
- Just 2.1% of participants reported that their tinnitus had been diagnosed by a hearing professional.
It’s obvious that women with tinnitus have a higher rate of suicide and researchers are attempting to raise awareness for them. And most people with tinnitus symptoms, according to this research, don’t get their tinnitus diagnosed by a hearing specialist. Not only are there treatments for tinnitus, lots of individuals experience relief by wearing hearing aids.
Are These Findings Universal?
This research must be duplicated in other parts of the world, with different sized populations, and eliminating other variables before we can make any broad generalizations. That said, we shouldn’t ignore the concern in the meantime.
What Does This Research Mean?
While this research points to an elevated risk of suicide for women with significant tinnitus, the study did not draw definitive conclusions as to why women were at greater risk of suicide than men. There are numerous reasons why this might be but the data doesn’t pinpoint any one reason why this might be.
Some things to take note of:
Some Tinnitus is Not “Severe”
First off, the vast majority of those who have noticed tinnitus do not have “severe” tinnitus. Moderate cases also present their own obstacles, of course. But the suicide risk for women was far more marked for women who experienced “severe” tinnitus symptoms.
Most of The Participants Weren’t Diagnosed
The majority of the respondents in this study who described moderate to severe symptoms didn’t get diagnosed and that is perhaps the next most shocking conclusion.
This is, possibly, the most important area of opportunity and one of the best ways to lower suicide or other health concerns at the same time. That’s because treatment for tinnitus can offer many overall advantages:
- People who are treated for tinnitus can learn to better regulate their symptoms.
- Hearing loss can be treated and tinnitus is often a warning sign.
- Some treatments also help with depression.
Tinnitus is Connected to Hearing Impairment
Up to 90% of individuals who cope with tinnitus also have hearing loss according to some studies and treating hearing loss by using hearing aids can help decrease tinnitus symptoms. As a matter of fact, some hearing aids are made with extra features to improve tinnitus symptoms. Schedule an appointment to learn if hearing aids could help you.
References
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2732497