Contribution of Tinnitus Burden and Hearing Loss to Geriatric Depression

Determine if tinnitus is a potential confounding variable in the study of hearing loss and depression in older populations.

This is a retrospective cross-sectional study using data from the 2005 to 2006, 2009 to 2010 and 2017 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subpopulation (n = 2352) was aged > 69 years. We selected a cutoff of 69 years to focus specifically on elderly adults; as a result, these findings are not generalizable to younger adults with tinnitus and hearing loss. A logistic regression model used depression as the binary response variable and tinnitus burden and speech frequency hearing loss as predictor variables. "Tinnitus burden" was determined via subjective responses from survey participants. Multiple covariates were used for the adjusted regression model.

Hearing loss was not associated with an increased risk of depression in this cohort. Surprisingly, mild speech frequency hearing loss showed a potential protective effect [Adjusted OR (95% CI) = 0.55 (0.31-0.97), p = 0.039]. A high tinnitus burden was a significant risk factor for depression in both crude and adjusted models [Adjusted OR (95% CI) = 7.05 (3.42-14.55), p < 0.001]. This effect was consistent when stratifying for hearing loss as well.

The burden of tinnitus appears to have a significant association with depression even while accounting for measured hearing loss. Most studies outlining the impact of hearing loss on depression have not adequately controlled for tinnitus. These findings suggest that tinnitus should be controlled for in future studies examining the relationship between hearing loss and depression.