Background: Chronic tinnitus (phantom perception of sound) significantly disrupts quality of
life in 15–20% of those who experience it. Understanding how certain personality traits
impact tinnitus perception and distress can be beneficial for the development of interventions
to improve the lives of tinnitus sufferers.
Purpose: Four key self-reported personality traits (social closeness, stress reaction, alienation,
and self-control) were identified from previous research as being associated with
tinnitus. These were compared between tinnitus and age-, gender-, and hearing level-matched
nontinnitus controls to see whether underlying profile differences exist, and if personality
traits levels correlate with various tinnitus characteristics assessed in typical
clinical questionnaires.
Research Design: A Web-based personality survey was administered comprising of self-control, stress
reaction, alienation, and social closeness subscale questions of the Multidimensional
Personality Questionnaire, the Hearing Handicap Inventory-Screening Version, TFI,
and the Tinnitus Case History Questionnaire.
Study Sample: A total of 154 participants with tinnitus (81 males, 73 females, mean age = 62.6
yr) and 61 control (32 males, 29 females, mean age = 59.62 yr) participants were recruited
via e-mail invitations to a tinnitus research clinic database, poster, and social
media Web site advertising.
Data Collection and Analysis: Statistical analysis was conducted using parametric statistics and IBM SPSS® Version 22 software.
Results: Tinnitus sufferers displayed higher levels of stress reaction, lower social closeness,
lower self-control, and higher alienation than the control group (p < 0.05). Alienation was related to tinnitus pitch and self-reported hyperacusis measured
using the Tinnitus Case History Questionnaire (p < 0.05). Stress reaction correlated with self-reported hyperacusis, whether tinnitus
sufferers had sought other treatments, and whether loud sounds make the tinnitus worse
(p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The four personality traits examined in this study exhibited a consistent association
with tinnitus perception and distress, and differentiated tinnitus sufferers from
nontinnitus control. Some of the traits also correlated significantly with certain
characteristics measured in tinnitus history questionnaires. Personality traits are
described in relation to “maladaptive” residuals under the Adaptation Level Theory
model of tinnitus. The results of the study suggest that certain personality traits
correlate with the clinical presentation of tinnitus.
psychological phenomena and processes
