Why Is Tinnitus a Problem? A Qualitative Analysis of Problems Reported by Tinnitus Patients.
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SUBMITTER: Watts EJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6277754 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan-Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Why Is Tinnitus a Problem? A Qualitative Analysis of Problems Reported by Tinnitus Patients.
Watts Emily J EJ Fackrell Kathryn K Smith Sandra S Sheldrake Jacqueline J Haider Haúla H Hoare Derek J DJ
Trends in hearing 20180101
Tinnitus is a prevalent complaint, and people with bothersome tinnitus can report any number of associated problems. Yet, to date, only a few studies, with different populations and relatively modest sample sizes, have qualitatively evaluated what those problems are. Our primary objective was to determine domains of tinnitus problem according to a large clinical data set. This was a retrospective analysis of anonymized clinical data from patients who attended a U.K. Tinnitus Treatment Center bet ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundTo better direct assessments and interventions toward the general population during both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and future crises with societal restrictions, data on the types of practical and emotional problems that people are experiencing are needed.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the types of practical and emotional problems that the general population is experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic and to construct an empirically derived inventory based on the findings.MethodsA total of 396 participants, recruited among members of the general public in Sweden who were experiencing practical and/or emotional problems during the pandemic, accessed a self-guided digital problem-solving intervention for a period of 1 week to report and solve the problems they experienced. Prior to accessing the intervention, the participants completed a short self-assessment regarding symptoms of depression and anxiety. Content analysis was used to account for the types of problems participants reported. A set of items for an inventory was later proposed based on the problem categories derived from the analysis.ResultsA majority of participants had clinically relevant symptoms of either depression or anxiety. The problems reported were categorized as 13 distinct types of problems. The most common problem was difficulty managing daily activities. Based on the categories, a 13-item inventory was proposed.ConclusionsThe 13 types of problems, and the proposed inventory, could be valuable when composing assessments and interventions for the general population during the ongoing pandemic or similar crises with societal restrictions. The most common problem was of a practical nature, indicating the importance of including examples of such problems within assessments and interventions.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04677270; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04677270.
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Project description:IntroductionIn tinnitus treatment, there is a tendency to shift from a "one size fits all" to a more individual, patient-tailored approach. Insight in the heterogeneity of the tinnitus spectrum might improve the management of tinnitus patients in terms of choice of treatment and identification of patients with severe mental distress. The goal of this study was to identify subgroups in a large group of tinnitus patients.MethodsData were collected from patients with severe tinnitus complaints visiting our tertiary referral tinnitus care group at the University Medical Center Groningen. Patient-reported and physician-reported variables were collected during their visit to our clinic. Cluster analyses were used to characterize subgroups. For the selection of the right variables to enter in the cluster analysis, two approaches were used: (1) variable reduction with principle component analysis and (2) variable selection based on expert opinion.ResultsVarious variables of 1,783 tinnitus patients were included in the analyses. Cluster analysis (1) included 976 patients and resulted in a four-cluster solution. The effect of external influences was the most discriminative between the groups, or clusters, of patients. The "silhouette measure" of the cluster outcome was low (0.2), indicating a "no substantial" cluster structure. Cluster analysis (2) included 761 patients and resulted in a three-cluster solution, comparable to the first analysis. Again, a "no substantial" cluster structure was found (0.2).ConclusionTwo cluster analyses on a large database of tinnitus patients revealed that clusters of patients are mostly formed by a different response of external influences on their disease. However, both cluster outcomes based on this dataset showed a poor stability, suggesting that our tinnitus population comprises a continuum rather than a number of clearly defined subgroups.
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