The presence of tinnitus in pregnancy was investigated by a postal que
stionnaire survey. A group of pregnant women attending the ante-natal
clinic and a control group of non-pregnant members of the nursing staf
f at the Royal United Hospital in Bath were studied. The prevalence of
tinnitus in the pregnant and non-pregnant women was compared. Both gr
oups were similar in age, previous noise exposure and the presence of
ear disease or operations. Twenty-five per cent of the pregnant women
reported tinnitus compared with 11% of the control group. Chi-square a
nalysis of this data gives a value of chi2 = 4.07, d.f. = 1, P < 0.05.
The result of our survey shows that there is a significantly increase
d prevalence of tinnitus in pregnant women compared with a similar non
-pregnant control group. This association has not been previously repo
rted.