Table 3.

Factor loadings of quartimax-rotated principal axis factor analysis (N = 678 patients with chronic tinnitus) across all obtained diagnosis pointers.

		Rotated sums of squared loadings
		1 (Eigenvalue: 3.04; 25.35% variance)	2 (Eigenvalue: 1.21; 10.11% variance)	3 (Eigenvalue: 1.09; 9.04% variance)
Measure
ISR	majdep	0.72
	agora	0.76
	ocd	0.77
	hypoch	0.59
	anorex	0.46
SCID-I	socP	0.37		0.38
	specP	0.46		0.49
	bulim	0.55		0.35
	alcd		0.79
	drugd		0.63
	mania_bid
	psycho			0.67

Notes. Boldened coefficients indicate main factor loading. ISR = ICD-10 Symptom Rating; SCID = Structured Clinical Interview for Mental Disorders; majdep = Major Depressive Disorder; agora = Agoraphobia with or without Panic Disorder; ocd = Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; hypoch = Health Anxiety; anorex = Anorexia Nervosa; socP = Social Anxiety Disorder; specP = Specific Phobia; bulim = Bulimia Nervosa; alcd = Alcohol Dependency; drugd = Drug Dependency; and psycho = Psychosis.

To assess whether this factor structure was consistent across patient subgroups, we computed additional factor analyses separately for patients with and without HL. Despite some variation in cross-loadings, the core factor structure was retained across groups. It emerged almost identically in patients without HL, whereas patients with HL showed a slightly different configuration: in this subgroup, fear-related (social) perceptions appeared as Factor 2, with bulimia additionally loading on this factor—possibly further highlighting a role of socially mediated emotional distress. Factor 3 indexed harmful substance use and also included manic symptoms, potentially reflecting shared psychological dynamics with substance use, such as impulsivity or loss of control. Psychosis cross-loaded on Factors 1 and 2, pointing to its complex positioning at the intersection of emotional distress and perceptual dysregulation