The impact of perceived tinnitus severity on health-related quality of life with aspects of gender.

The Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) has been used to investigate the health profiles in different medical conditions. It has, however, never been applied to tinnitus sufferers. The present study aimed at investigating relationships between the perceived severity of tinnitus, audiometric data, age, gender and non-disease specific health-related quality of life measured with the NHP divided into two sections; NHP I (topics related to health status) and NHP II (health induced problems in daily life). These parameters were statistically analysed to identify predictive factors to the perceived severity of tinnitus, described by the Tinnitus Severity Questionnaire (TSQ). A total of 186 consecutive tinnitus patients (57 females and 129 males) attending an audiological specialist clinic in Sweden were included in the study. The stepwise regression model used explained 37.8 per cent of the variance in the perceived severity of tinnitus, and the significant predictors were: "Emotions", "Sleep", and "Pain", three of the six dimensions of the NHP I. Differences between gender were found in NHP II and age-related differences emerged in NHP I when male and female patients were compared to normal controls.