Relationship Between Chronicity and Severity of Tinnitus and Sleep-Related Issues

Growing evidence suggests a potential link between tinnitus and sleep-related disturbances. This study aimed to explore this association in a large-scale population-based data.

Cross-sectional study.

The 6,951 subjects with data on demographics, sleep patterns, sleep-related symptoms, and otologic assessments were selected from the eighth and ninth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2019, 2020, and 2022), a database representing the general population.

Subjects were classified into tinnitus and nontinnitus groups, with the tinnitus group subdivided by chronicity (acute/chronic) and severity (mild/severe), and their association with sleep issues was analyzed.

The chronic tinnitus group had shorter sleep durations (weekdays, p < 0.001; weekends, p < 0.001) and higher proportions of sleep deprivation (weekdays, p = 0.001; weekends, p < 0.001), fatigue ( p < 0.001), and witnessed obstructive sleep apnea ( p = 0.026) compared to the nontinnitus group. They also exhibited shorter sleep duration ( p = 0.027) and more sleep deprivation ( p = 0.025) on weekends than the acute tinnitus group. The severe tinnitus group showed shorter sleep durations (weekdays, p = 0.004; weekends, p = 0.002), more sleep deprivation (weekdays, p = 0.025; weekends, p = 0.001), and higher levels of fatigue ( p = 0.001) compared to the nontinnitus group, as well as more fatigue than the mild tinnitus group ( p = 0.036).

The chronicity and severity of tinnitus were significantly associated with sleep problems. Chronic and severe tinnitus are strongly associated with sleep disturbances, emphasizing the need for targeted management.