Tinnitus prevalence in New Zealand

There is a lack of consensus in the international literature pertaining to the prevalence of tinnitus for the overall population, as well as sex and age sub-groups, suggesting the need for country-specific prevalence estimates. We aim to find prevalence estimates of tinnitus that are representative of the New Zealand population.

We obtained data from random-digit dialled telephone surveys of households, conducted by Roy Morgan Research Limited between August, 2007, and July, 2013, for people aged ≥ 14 years in New Zealand (n=69,976). As part of the survey, participants were asked whether they have had tinnitus in the last 12 months. The response options were "yes" or "no". Estimates were standardised to the New Zealand population structure based on the 2013 national census. Sex, age and ethnic differences were explored.

The overall weighted prevalence for any tinnitus was 6.0% in the total New Zealand population age ≥ 14 years. Tinnitus was higher among males (6.5%) compared to females (5.5%). Males were 55% more likely to report tinnitus compared to females among young adults aged 14 to 24 years, while males were 32% more likely to report tinnitus compared to females among adults aged 50 to 64 years. Tinnitus prevalence increased with age, peaking at 13.5% for older adults aged ≥ 65 years. Adults aged ≥ 65 years are three times more likely to report tinnitus than people aged below 65 years. Tinnitus prevalence was highest among people identifying as European (7.05%) and lowest among people identifying as Asian (1.00%).

This is the first nationally representative study of tinnitus prevalence in New Zealand and largest study sample internationally for tinnitus prevalence to date. Tinnitus is a public health problem affecting approximately 207,000 people in the New Zealand population aged ≥ 14 years. This study has highlighted the importance of sex and age in defining a high-risk tinnitus population, but our knowledge falls short of profiling their ethnic and social-economic characteristics.