Psychological dimensions in patients with disabling tinnitus and craniomandibular disorders

Forty-two patients with severe tinnitus and craniomandibular disorders (CMD) are presented from an audiological and psychological point of view. During a 2-week period, the patients rated their mood and their tinnitus. Based upon mood ratings, patients were grouped into three clusters (high, medium and low mood). The three groups differed in a number of respects, audiological as well as psychological. Patients in the low mood group experienced significantly more intense and severe tinnitus and more daily stress than patients in the high mood group. Ratings of irritation and concentration difficulties seemed to be mood related, and discriminated between patients in the low mood group and patients in the moderate and the high mood groups. Difference in hearing level between the left and the right ear was more pronounced in patients with low mood. There were, however, no significant differences between the groups in the stomatognathic variables. It is concluded that the above mentioned audiological and psychological observations should be considered as potentially important for satisfactory management of individual tinnitus patients. Further studies of the effects of optimally compensated hearing on depressed mood in patients with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus are required.