Tinnitus affects more than 740 million adults globally

Tinnitus affects more than 740 million adults worldwide and is viewed as a major problem by over 120 million, highlighting the need for improved research and patient care, according to a systematic review in JAMA Neurology.

“Today there is no globally accepted categorization of tinnitus, although different attempts have been made,” Carlotta M. Jarach, MSc, of the department of environmental health sciences at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, and colleagues wrote. “Moreover, evidence on the frequency of tinnitus among the general population is still scant. The difficulties in obtaining adequate data are due to the multifactorial etiology of tinnitus, its associated disorders, the various characteristics of the symptoms and the subjective nature of any assessment of tinnitus.”

To update existing estimates on the prevalence and incidence of tinnitus, researchers assessed data from PubMed-MEDLINE and Embase and included 767 publications and 113 eligible articles published between 1972 and 2021. They extracted prevalence estimates from 83 articles and incidence estimates from 12 articles.

According to meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of any tinnitus among adults was 14.4% (95% CI, 12.6-16.5) and ranged from 4.1% (95% CI, 3.7-4.4) to 37.2% (95% CI, 34.6-39.9). Prevalence estimates did not significantly differ by sex, with researchers reporting 14.1% (95% CI, 11.6-17) in men and 13.1% (95% CI, 10.5-16.2) in women.

However, prevalence estimates did increase with age: 9.7% (95% CI, 7.4-12.5) in adults aged 18 to 44 years, 13.7% (95% CI, 11-17) in those aged 45 to 64 years and 23.6% (95% CI, 19.4-28.5) in ages 65 years and older.

The pooled incidences of severe tinnitus and chronic tinnitus were 2.3% (95% CI, 1.7-3.1) and 9.8% (95% CI, 4.7-19.3), respectively. The pooled incidence rate of any tinnitus was 1,164 cases per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 479-2,828).

“To our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis on the frequency of tinnitus,” Jarach and colleagues wrote. “Such estimates place tinnitus at an order of magnitude similar to the leading causes of years lived with disability, namely, hearing loss, followed by migraine, low back pain and neck pain.

“Health authorities and research institutions, such as the Global Burden of Disease, should consider this prevalence and play a leading role in funding, ultimately to boost research on tinnitus and improve the care and the lives of patients with tinnitus.”