Prevalence of Tinnitus in an Aging Population and Its Relation to Age and Hearing Loss

Objectives Tinnitus is a common hearing‐related disorder, which may have a large impact on daily life. With aging populations worldwide, it is important to gain insight in the occurrence of tinnitus at older ages and to understand its relationship with age‐related hearing loss. We investigated the prevalence of tinnitus among a general aging population, across age strata and hearing status. Study Design Cross‐sectional. Setting The population‐based Rotterdam Study. Methods A total of 6098 participants underwent tinnitus assessment, and 4805 had additional hearing assessment. We determined tinnitus prevalence per 5‐year age groups. Hearing impairment was defined as ≥25–dB HL worse ear pure tone average (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz). We investigated with multivariable logistic regression the association between hearing impairment and tinnitus. Tinnitus handicap was assessed in 663 participants with daily tinnitus via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory–screening version (THI‐s). Results Tinnitus was prevalent in 21.4% (n = 1304). Prevalent tinnitus was evenly distributed over 5‐year age groups. Participants with hearing impairment were more likely to have tinnitus (odds ratio, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.92‐2.69) as compared with those without hearing impairment. The median THI‐s score was 4 (interquartile range, 0‐10), indicating a slight handicap, and 14.6% of the participants reported a moderate or severe handicap (THI‐s ≥16). Conclusions In a general elderly population, 1 in 5 persons has tinnitus. Of those with tinnitus, for 1 per 10 persons, the presence of tinnitus interfered with daily life. Participants with hearing impairment were twice as likely to have tinnitus. Despite the age‐dependent occurrence of hearing impairment, no such age dependency was found for tinnitus.