Table 4.
Summary of studies on personality characteristics in tinnitus patients according to tinnitus distress.
| References | Questionnaires (personality, tinnitus) | Study design | Study population | Sample number (Tinnitus number) | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andersson et al. (41) | HADS, ISI, FMPS TRQ | Case series Cross-sectional | Tinnitus patients visiting the Audiology Department | 256 (256) | Severity of tinnitus was correlated with Concern over Mistakes, Personal Standards, Parental Expectations, Parental Criticism, Doubts about Action and Organization (p < 0.05) |
| Adami Dehkordi et al. (40) | EPQ TET, TSI | Case control Cross-sectional | Patients with idiopathic tinnitus from the ENT Department and matched, healthy non-tinnitus volunteers from patients' family | 66 (33) | No associations between the TSI, the 1–10 Tinnitus Scale Score and any of the personality traits were found |
| Durai et al. (42) | MPQ TFI | Case control Cross-sectional | Tinnitus sufferers recruited from the University of Auckland Tinnitus Research Volunteer Database Non-tinnitus sufferers recruited via the University of Auckland Hearing and Tinnitus database, posters, and social media | 215 (61) | Within tinnitus sufferers, stress reaction scores were negatively correlated with constraint (r = −0.365, p = 0.004) and social closeness/positive emotionality (r = −0.296, p = 0.02) and positively correlated with alienation scores/negative emotionality (r = 0.406, p = 0.001) Total TFI scores was significantly negatively correlated with social closeness (r = −0.312, p < 0.001) The tinnitus group had lower levels of self-control scores (mean = 12.70, SD = 4.15) and social closeness scores (mean = 8.46, SD = 3.57) than controls (respectively, mean = 13.76, SD = 3.26; mean = 10.11, SD = 4.06) and higher alienation scores (mean = 3.48, SD = 3.87) than controls (mean = 10.11, SD = 4.06) |
| Gerber et al. (43) | MMPI, scaling method to assess severity of stress events by Homes and Rahe 26-item questionnaire designed to obtain a subjective measure of tinnitus severity (not validated) | Case series Cross-sectional | Male tinnitus patients referred to the Audiology Clinic with subjective tinnitus as a primary complaint | 45 (45) | Severity of tinnitus was not related to stress events or differences on the MMPI profile |
| Langguth et al. (44) | NEO-FFI, BDI THI, TQ | Case series Cross-sectional | Patients with tinnitus for at least 6 months, visiting the Tinnitus Clinic | 72 (72) | High tinnitus handicap was correlated with low agreeableness (p = 0.003), but not with neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness High tinnitus severity was correlated with high neuroticism (p = 0.028), but not with extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness |
| McCormack et al. (45) | EPI-Neuroticism Single question concerning tinnitus annoyance | Cohort Cross-sectional | Tinnitus, and non-tinnitus participants, aged 40 to 69 years, recruited from the UK Biobank Dataset | 172.621 (27.964) | Neuroticism had a stronger association with bothersome tinnitus [4.11 (OR 95% CI 3.69–4.58); p < 0.001] than tinnitus presence [OR 2.11 (95% CI 2.00–2.22); p < 0.001] |
| Meric et al. (46) | French short MMPI TRQ, THQ, STSS scale | Case series Cross-sectional | Tinnitus patients visiting the ENT Department | 281 (281) | Increasing tinnitus impact and handicap were correlated with paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, and hypochondriasis (p < 0.0001). No association was present for mania |
| Salviati et al. (47) | VRS, SCL90-R, TCI THI | Case series Cross-sectional | Tinnitus patients from the Tinnitus Center of the Department of Sense Organs | 239 (239) | Tinnitus handicap was associated with all psychopathological dimensions (somatization, obsessive–compulsive, anxiety, depression, sensitivity, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism; p < 0.001) Harm avoidance and self-directedness were also correlated with tinnitus handicap (p < 0.004), but not with reward dependence (p = 0.88), novelty seeking (p = 0.90), persistence (p = 0.70), cooperativeness (p = 0.32), and self-transcendence (p = 0.21) |
| Strumila et al. (48) | HADS, short version of Big Five Personality Dimensions Scale and sociodemographic questions THI, VAS of tinnitus severity | Case series Cross-sectional | Tinnitus sufferer recruited via internet | 212 (212) | Tinnitus severity was not correlated with personality traits [in mean (SD)]: - Extraversion mean 26.49 (5.13) - Agreeableness 26.46 (5.13) - Consciousness 26.33 (4.02) - Neuroticism 18.55 (5.45) - Openness 21.39 (5.32) |
| Weber et al. (49) | FPI-R, BDI TQ | Case series Cross-sectional | Adult, tinnitus patients visiting the ENT Department | 121 (121) | Based on tinnitus severity, patients differed in - Life satisfaction (F = 5.497; p = 0.001), lower if increasing severity - Excitability (F = 5.151; p = 0.002), higher if increasing severity - Aggressiveness (F = 3.483; p = 0.018), higher if increasing severity - Stress (F = 10.846; p < 0.001), higher if increasing severity - Physical complaints (F = 12.876; p < 0.001), higher if increasing severity - Health concerns (F = 3.610; p = 0.015), higher if increasing severity - Emotionality (F = 12.708; p < 0.001), higher if increasing severity |
| Welch and Dawes (50) | MPQ Single question concerning tinnitus annoyance | Cohort Cross-sectional | Tinnitus and non-tinnitus participants born between April 1972 and March 1973 from a birth cohort of Dunedin (New Zealand's South Island) | 970 (437) | Based on amount of tinnitus, personality differed significantly: Positive emotionality [F(2.946) = 3.675; p = 0.026] - Social closeness lower in groups with more tinnitus [F(2.946) = 13.242; p < 0.001] - Well-being, social potency, and achievement did not differ Negative emotionality [F(2.946) = 12.810; p < 0.001] - Stress reaction [F(2.946) = 9.144, p < 0.001] higher in groups with more tinnitus - Alienation higher in groups with more tinnitus (Wald = 12.206; p <0.001) - Aggression did not differ Constraint [F(2.946) = 5.516; p = 0.004] - Self-control lower in groups with more tinnitus [F(2.946) = 4.752; p = 0.009] - Harm avoidance or Traditionalism did not differ Based on the annoyance of tinnitus, personality differed significantly: Positive emotionality [F(2.424) = 3.010, p = 0.050] - Social closeness lower in patients more tinnitus distress [F(2.424) = 3.471; p = 0.032] - Well-being lower in groups with more annoyance (Wald = 6.579, p = 0.010) - Social potency or achievement did not differ Negative emotionality [F(2, 424) = 6.039, p = 0.003) higher in groups with more annoyance. Annoyance was not related to constraint [F(2.424) = 1.722, p = 0.180]. |
Secondary outcome on tinnitus distress, annoyance, or severity on personality characteristics in tinnitus patients per publication (first author, year of publication). Per publication, the used tinnitus and personality questionnaires used are depicted; if underlined, they assessed personality traits. Study design and information on the included populations are shown. The outcomes show results of tinnitus distress in relation to personality traits in tinnitus patients. BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; EPI, Eysenck Personality Inventory; EPQ, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire; FMPS, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale; FPI-R, Freiburger Personlichkeitsinventar; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; ISI, Insomnia Severity Index; MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; MPQ, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire; NEO-FFI, NEO Five-Factor Inventory; SCL-90-R, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; STSS, Subjective Tinnitus Severity Scale; TCI, Temperament and Character Inventory; TET, Tinnitus Evaluation Test; TFI, Tinnitus Functional Index; THI, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory; THQ, Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire; TQ, Tinnitus Questionnaire; TRQ, Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire; TSI, Tinnitus Severity Index; VAS, Visual Analog Scale; VRS, Stress-Related Vulnerability Scale.