Correlates of sleep disturbance in chronic distressing tinnitus

Sleep disturbance was recorded for a 1-week period prior to a follow-up assessment of 26 patients who had completed a study of psychological therapy reported elsewhere (Davies et al., 1995). The absence of reported sleep disturbance was associated with essentially normal hearing over the range 250 Hz to 2 kHz; hearing impairment was present in mild or severe sleep disturbance. Patients whose sleep was most disturbed rated significantly greater tinnitus annoyance in the evening. Measures of mood and emotional distress did not relate to degree of sleep disturbance.