[Quality of partnerships in patients with tinnitus]

Chronic tinnitus can massively impair the quality of life of patients affected with this disorder. Whether the constant ringing sounds and head noises heard by the sufferer have a stressful effect on the individual's partner has not been investigated so far.

A total of 32 members of the Tyrolean tinnitus self-help group suffering from chronic tinnitus and their partners with whom they shared a common household for a minimum period of 2 years underwent psychological investigation with regard to their subjectively experienced tinnitus-related stress, the quality of their partnership, emotional support they received, style of communication with their partners, and depression.

Our results show that it is not the extent of subjective tinnitus that is associated with impaired partnership quality, but rather the extent of tinnitus-associated depression.

The results suggest that in clinical practice, less emphasis should be placed on the dynamics of family and partnership aspects and more attention should be paid to the possible presence of symptoms of depression and their treatment.