Tinnitus in childhood.

Ninety-three healthy children attending routine school and community medical examinations were questioned about tinnitus, 27 of them (29%) described tinnitus. Nine children (9.6%) were bothered by their symptom, the others were not. The incidence of tinnitus in this group was compared with that in a group of 109 children with ear disease. Forty-two children (38.5%) in this group reported tinnitus. This difference is not statistically significant. Details of children attending paediatric ENT clinics were recorded by two ENT surgeons. Four hundred and three children were seen during the study period and of these 13 (3%) reported tinnitus spontaneously. All these children had evidence of ear disease at the time of the consultation. The incidence of tinnitus in those members of this group with abnormal ears was significantly higher than in those children with no evidence of ear disease (P = less than 0.02). Tinnitus may be a manifestation of ear disease in children, but may also be described by children with normal ears.