PATIENTS REPORTS OF THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON TINNITUS

One hundred chronic sufferers attending a tinnitus outpatient clinic c ompleted self-report questionnaires assessing the quantity of alcohol they consumed weekly and its effect on tinnitus. The results showed a mixed effect of alcohol on tinnitus with 22% of the sample reporting t hat drinking worsened tinnitus, 62% reporting no effect of alcohol on tinnitus and 16% reporting that alcohol improved tinnitus. The reporte d effect of alcohol on tinnitus significantly influenced the reported change in the level of alcohol intake since tinnitus onset, with signi ficantly more units of alcohol being consumed by those sufferers who r eported that alcohol improved their tinnitus. However, for the sample as a whole, drinking behaviour was not significantly different to that of the general population.