The moderating effect of personality traits on acute tinnitus sensation in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Chii-Yuan Huang; Yen-Fu Cheng; Albert C Yang; Chia-Ju Lin; Pak-In Ieong; Chien-Yu Hsueh

doi:10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000710

The moderating effect of personality traits on acute tinnitus sensation in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

J Chin Med Assoc. 2022 May 1;85(5):633-638. doi: 10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000710. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

Authors

Chii-Yuan Huang^{1

2}, Yen-Fu Cheng^{1

2

3

4

5}, Albert C Yang^{3

4

5}, Chia-Ju Lin¹, Pak-In Ieong⁶, Chien-Yu Hsueh^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
² Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Tapei, Taiwan, ROC.
³ Department of Medical Research, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁴ Institude of Brain Science, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Tapei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁵ Digital Medicine Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁶ Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

PMID: 35266917
DOI: 10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000710

Abstract

Background: People may experience tinnitus after sudden hearing impairment. The details of the relationship between tinnitus improvement and hearing recovery are still unclear. Personality traits may play a role in the modulation of tinnitus sensation. We investigated the moderating effect of personality traits on pretreatment and posttreatment tinnitus sensation in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL).

Methods: This prospective longitudinal study enrolled 33 patients diagnosed with unilateral ISSHL and acute tinnitus in 2018-2019 at one institute. Clinical data were collected before and after treatment, including results of pure-tone audiometry (PTA), the Clinical Tinnitus Questionnaire (CTQ), the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), tinnitus loudness and annoyance (Visual Analog Scale; VAS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI)-44.

Results: Eighteen men and 15 women with an average age of 48.3 ± 15.8 years were enrolled. The pretreatment hearing threshold and THI score were 58.0 ± 27.4 dB HL and 42.9 ± 26.2 (range: 0-88), respectively; the posttreatment values were 39.8 ± 22.4 dB HL and 20.7 ± 22.5 (range: 0-64), respectively. There were significant differences between pretreatment and posttreatment hearing thresholds as well as THI, VAS, and HADS scores (p < 0.001) but not BFI-44 results. Neuroticism and openness had significant positive and negative correlations, respectively, with acute tinnitus stress before treatment (r = 0.561, p = 0.001; r = -0.359, p = 0.040). After 3 months of follow-up, all patients were analyzed separately by dividing them into recovery (n = 16) and nonrecovery groups (n = 14) according to their hearing improvement status by Siegel's criteria. Neuroticism showed a significant moderating effect on acute tinnitus sensation in the ISSHL recovery group (p < 0.001) but not in the nonrecovery group (p = 0.106).

Conclusion: Neuroticism and openness may affect acute tinnitus stress in ISSHL patients. Practitioners should consider personality traits when managing ISSHL patients with bothersome tinnitus.

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* / diagnosis
Hearing Loss, Sudden* / therapy
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Personality
Prospective Studies
Sensation
Tinnitus* / diagnosis
Tinnitus* / therapy