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Severe tinnitus and its effect on selective and divided attention
Catherine Stevens1, Gary Walker, Morten Boyer
1MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney, Australia. kj.stevens@uws.edu.au
International Journal of Audiology
|May 10, 2007
Summary
Chronic, severe tinnitus impairs cognitive resources, slowing reaction times on demanding visual tasks. This effect was observed across multiple tests, independent of hearing loss, anxiety, or depression.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
Background:
- Chronic, severe tinnitus may impact cognitive function.
- Two hypotheses exist: general resource depletion or selective impact on demanding tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of chronic, severe tinnitus on visual task performance.
- To differentiate between the general resource depletion and controlled processing hypotheses.
Main Methods:
- Compared 11 tinnitus patients (severe, >2 years) with matched controls.
- Assessed performance on Stroop tasks (easy/demanding), single reaction time (RT), and dual tasks.
- Controlled for age, verbal IQ, hearing level, anxiety, and depression.
Main Results:
- Tinnitus group showed slower RTs on both Stroop conditions and dual tasks.
- Impairments were consistent with the general resource depletion hypothesis.
- Differences were not linked to hearing level, anxiety, or depression.
Conclusions:
- Chronic, severe tinnitus leads to a general depletion of cognitive resources.
- This impacts performance on visually demanding tasks.
- Tinnitus-related cognitive deficits are independent of audiological and psychological factors.
