Children's experience of tinnitus: a preliminary survey of children presenting to a psychology department

Tinnitus has been much researched within adult populations with considerati on of prevalence as well as the impact of tinnitus on individual's lives. A lthough the literature highlights the prevalence of tin nitus in children, there is little information on its effects from a psychological perspective . This small-scale preliminary study looked at 24 children (50% with normal hearing and 50% with a hearing loss) who presented to the Psychology Depar tment with troublesome tinnitus. In line with adult studies, preliminary re sults suggested that tinnitus can have as marked an effect on children's li ves as it is reported to have on adults. Insomnia. emotional distress, list ening and attention difficulties are the main psychological factors associa ted with tinnitus in children. These, in turn, may have an effect upon thei r school performance. Differences were found between children with normal h earing and those with some degree of hearing loss. Overall, children with n ormal hearing found tinnitus more troublesome and presented with higher lev els of anxiety than those with some level of hearing impair ment. The prese nt study suggests that children who complain of tinnitus should be taken se riously. In terms of management, individual intervention packages were foun d to be useful in alleviating anxiety and other associated factors. Recomme ndations are made on areas for future research.