Abstract
Tinnitus is primarily an auditory symptom. Yet not only patients and clinicians, but also current pathophysiological models relate the onset and maintenance of tinnitus to stress. Here physiological and psychological stress reactivity was investigated in 19 patients with subjective chronic tinnitus and 19 comparable healthy controls. All participants underwent five consecutive measurements in one session including three resting conditions and two stress tasks in between (mental arithmetic and concentration on tinnitus/ear noise). Stress reactivity was assessed by heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and subjective ratings for each of the five measurements. In patients with tinnitus, mean HR was overall decreased and blunted in response to acute stress induced by mental arithmetic compared to controls. HRV measures did not differ between both groups. Tinnitus sufferers indicated more subjective stress and increased awareness of tinnitus after the mental arithmetic task (during both resting and concentration on tinnitus measurements), but perceived similar levels of stress during mental arithmetic stress. In contrast to controls, HR and HRV were not correlated and also strain reports and physiological data were not associated in tinnitus. Our data show hints for a de-synchronization of physiological and psychological stress reactivity in chronic tinnitus.
Highlights
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a main effect of group factor, F(1, 36) = 7.07, p = 0.012, ηp 2 = 0.16, which indicated that, overall, mean heart rate (HR) was lower for patients with chronic tinnitus than for controls
We investigated the stress reactivity in patients with chronic tinnitus using HR and heart rate variability (HRV)
Baseline levels of mean HR were significantly lower in tinnitus patients than in controls
Summary
Physiological and psychological stress reactivity was investigated in 19 patients with subjective chronic tinnitus and 19 comparable healthy controls. Tinnitus symptoms themselves may act as a stressor, resulting in higher general physiological arousal and psychological distress[11] Consistent with this idea, research showed elevated ratings of subjective strain in response to experimentally induced stress in tinnitus patients compared to controls[12]. The amygdala, essential for the emotional evaluation of sensory stimuli and in turn a control structure of the ANS, may be the essential common correlate in the maintenance of tinnitus annoyance and its bodily consequences, e.g. elevated levels of arousal[17,18,19]. The frequent co-occurrence of insomnia[33,34] and depression[35] with tinnitus might be mediated by hyperarousal[19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
