Relationship between Tinnitus and Hearing Loss among Elderly Patients in Lagos State, Nigeria

Tinnitus is a common symptom among Otorhinolaryngology patients.

This study aims to assess the prevalence of tinnitus and its relationship with hearing loss among the elderly in Lagos.

Elderly patients attending general outpatient clinics at the model primary health centers in three randomly selected local government areas of Lagos state were recruited. A semi-structured questionnaire was utilized to obtain their socio-demographic data, tinnitus, and hearing loss history. Their ear, nose, and throat were examined, and those with wax/debris impaction had appropriate treatment. Their hearing was assessed with Pure Tone Audiometry.

Three hundred and nine elderly patients aged 65 to 94 years, and a mean age of 72.3± 6.3 years were studied. There were 134 males and 175 females with male: female ratio of 1:1.3. Tinnitus was present in 62(20.1%) of all participants, was unilateral in 43(69.4%), and bilateral in 19(30.6%) totaling 81(13.1%) ears. Tinnitus prevalence in age groups 65-69 and ≥ 85 years were 19/129(14.7%) and 9/17(52.9%) respectively. Hearing loss was present in 450/618 (72.8%) of the ears of the study participants, 76/81 (98.3%), and 374/537 (69.7%) of the ears of participants with and without tinnitus respectively. Tinnitus was present in 76/450(16.9%) of ears with hearing loss and 5/168(3.0%) of ears with normal hearing, and in 12/182(6.6%), 19/24(72.9%), and 17/19(89.5%) ears that had mild, severe and profound hearing loss respectively.

The prevalence of tinnitus was 20.1% generally and increased significantly with age. Tinnitus was statistically significantly related to age, educational level, presence of hearing loss, and severity.